CAMT

2017 Session 2171

TI-NspireTM CX TechnologyActivities for Beginners
Valerie Hudson Texas Instruments Instructor
Vhudsonmath.weebly.com vhudsonmath@gmail.com

Graphing a Quadratic Function and Finding Points of Interest
1. Open a new TI-Nspire CX document and choose
Graphs.

2. Place a grid on the screen, if desired.
Ex: Press Menu View Grid Lined Grid
(See Figure 1)

3. Press Tab if the function line is not showing,
then type your equation in f1(x) and press
Enter. (See Figure 2) Press Ctrl T to see the Figure 1 Figure 2
corresponding table, if desired.
!
(The equation shown is = ! + 4 2)
!

4. Change viewing window: If you cannot see all
points of interest, change the viewing window:
Method A: Press Menu Window/Zoom
and choose the method that you prefer. (See
Figure 3)

Method B: Double Click on the end value of an
axis until it turns blue, type a value of your
choosing, and press Enter. (See Figure 4) Figure 3 Figure 4
Brush your finger across the TouchPad to
move the cursor and press Click outside of
the textbox to set the new axis end value.

Method C: Move your cursor to an axis until
you see axes. (Depending on where your
cursor is located, if you see graph f1 press
Tab until you see axes.) Press and hold
Click until you see a grab hand. Brush your
finger across the TouchPad to change the
viewing window. (See Figure 5)
Figure 5 Figure 6
Method D: Grab the screen: Move your cursor
to any empty space NOT including the graphed
equation or an axis. Press and hold Click until
you see a grab hand. Brush your finger across
the TouchPad to change the viewing window.
(See Figure 6) Press Click to let go of the grab
hand.

5. Find the y-intercept: Press Menu Trace
Graph Trace. Use the left or right arrow
buttons on the TouchPad to move the cursor
to the y-intercept, and the term will be
indicated on the screen. (See Figure 7) Press
ESC to remove the trace icon in the upper
left corner.

Figure 7

 6. Find the zeroes:
Method A: Using the graph trace option,
press the left/right arrows to move the
cursor until you reach the location of an x-
intercept. If the term zero is not shown
on the screen and the cursor is in the
location of the zero, press the up arrow
button to force the calculator to provide
the coordinates for the x-intercept. Press
Click to set the coordinates on the
Figure 8 Figure 9
screen. (See Figure 8) Repeat as necessary
to find other zero. Press ESC to remove
the trace icon in the upper left corner.

Method B: Using the Menu button,
choose Analyze Graph then Zero. (See
Figure 9) Brush your finger on the
TouchPad to move the cursor to the left
side of the desired x-intercept, then press
Click or Enter for the lower bound.
(See Figure 10) Brush your finger on the
TouchPad again to move the cursor to the Figure 10 Figure 11
right side of the same x-intercept, then
press Click or Enter for the upper

bound. (See Figure 11) The coordinates will
be shown on the screen. (See Figure 12)
Repeat as necessary to find other zero.

Figure 12

7. Find the minimum (or maximum)

Method A: Using the graph trace option,
press the left/right arrows to move the
cursor until you reach the location of the
minimum (or maximum). If the term
minimum (or maximum) is not
shown on the screen and the cursor is in
the location of the attribute, press the
up arrow button to force the calculator
to provide the coordinates. Press Click Figure 12
to set the coordinates on the screen.
(See Figure 13) Repeat as necessary to
find other zero. Press ESC to remove
the trace icon in the upper left corner.










 Method B: Using the Menu button,
choose Analyze Graph then
minimum (or maximum). (See Figure
14) Brush your finger on the TouchPad to
move the cursor to the left side of the
minimum (or maximum), then press
Click or Enter for the lower bound.
(See Figure 15) Brush your finger on the
TouchPad again to move the cursor to Figure 14 Figure 15
the right side of the minimum (or
maximum) then press Click or
Enter for the upper bound. (See Figure
16) The coordinates will be shown on the
screen. (See Figure 17)




Figure 16 Figure 17
Entering Equations: Relation
1. Open a new TI-Nspire CX document and choose
Graphs.
2. Place a grid on the screen, if desired.
Ex: Press Menu View Grid Lined Grid
(See Figure 1)

3. Press Tab if the function line is not showing,
then delete the = sign, and choose Relation.
Type your equation (type the = sign in the
equation) and press Enter. (See Figure 2) Figure 1 Figure 2

4. Change the viewing window if needed as
explained on page 1 of this document.

5. Translate or rotate the graph, if desired, by
pressing and holding the Click button while
hovering over the graphed figure. Next, slide
your finger over the TouchPad in order to
move the figure. (Translating and Rotating can
also be accomplished with equations typed in
function lines.) Figure 3 Figure 4

6. The table feature is not available with
Relation as non-functions can also be
graphed here, but points can be placed on the
graph using Menu Trace or Menu
Geometry Points & Lines Point On. (See
Figure 3). Press Click on the graph of the figure
to anchor a point on the graph. (See Figure 4)
Press ESC to remove the Point On Icon in the
upper left hand corner. To change coordinates,
double-click on one of the coordinates and enter Figure 5
a new value that is included in the current
viewing window. Then press Enter. The point
will jump to your chosen location on the graph.
(See Figure 5)



 Entering Equations: General Equations with Sliders
1. Open a new TI-Nspire CX document and choose
Graphs.

2. Place a grid on the screen, if desired.
Ex: Press Menu View Grid Lined Grid

3. Press Tab if the function line is not showing,
then enter the general equation of your choice.
Be sure to use the appropriate operators
including multiplication! You will then be asked Figure A Figure B
to create sliders. (See Figure A)

4. Press Enter to see the equation and
corresponding sliders. (See Figure B) Press
Click outside of the blue highlighted area in
order to access the sliders.

5. Move your cursor to one of the slider buttons.
Press and hold Click then brush your finger
across the TouchPad to change the slider value
and adjust the graphed equation accordingly.
(See Figure C) Press Click to let go of the grab
hand.

6. To change a sliders shape, orientation and/or
max/min values, hover the cursor over one of
the sliders and press Ctrl then Menu to Figure C Figure D
access Settings. Then make any changes that

you like.
The k slider is changed in the example. (See
Figure D)