Some graphing calculators may be used to evaluate a function. The following discussion is based on the TI-92 Graphing Calculator. Before doing an example using a graphing calculator, we must be sure of a few things. The notation x or X refers to the letter x from the keyboard. The symbol  denotes multiplication. The minus sign is denoted by whereas the negative of a number is denoted by . We now do an example using a Graphing Calculator.

Before a function can be used in a calculator the function must be defined. For this example the function is

f (x) = 3x² - x - 7. It is defined on the calculator as follows:

(displays ‘Other’ menu)  places Define on the entry line.

Then press: f  x   3 x  2  x 7 

This places the function in the history area.

To evaluate the function at:	the key strokes	displays the answer
x = 0	f  0	- 7.
x = 3	f  3	17
x = -2	f   2	7
f (a + h)	f  a  h	3a2 + a(6h - 1) + 3h2 - h - 7

  f  a   displays 6ah + 3h² - h
 

To Table of Contents

To Section 1. Introduction

To Section 3. Table of Values