bannon@andromeda.rutgers.edu.rutgers.edu (Ron Bannon) (09/28/90)
I'd like to purchase a calculator which can perform serious statistics. I've heard about the HP21S but would like to here from others who use calculators for statistical analysis. Currently I'm using a Casio fx-7000G but it is rather limited when it comes to statistics. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Ron Bannon bannon@andromeda.rutgers.edu bannon@math.rutgers.edu
louxj@jacobs.CS.ORST.EDU (John W. Loux) (09/29/90)
bannon@andromeda (Ron Bannon) writes: >I'd like to purchase a calculator which can perform serious statistics. >I've heard about the HP21S but would like to here from others who use >calculators for statistical analysis. Currently I'm using a Casio fx-7000G >but it is rather limited when it comes to statistics. Any help would be >greatly appreciated. > >Ron Bannon >bannon@andromeda.rutgers.edu >bannon@math.rutgers.edu > May I be one of the first to recommend the HP-48SX? One of the main advantages of the 48 is memory --- it does array-based statistics and retains all of the data you've entered so that you can review and alter it as necessary and even have several data sets that you can move between. Machines like the 21S do accumulations of the data as it's entered, retaing the accumulation but not the original value. The 48 has 30K built-in memory expandable to ~ 280K so many relatively large data sets can be stored. The number of dependent variables can be arbitrarily large within the constraints of memory sas can the number of samples. The 48 also has a nice array editor and data entry mode for storing and altering your statistical data. All arrays can be given descriptive names when stored so that you can keep track of them, and data can be passed back and forth between the calculator and a desk-top computer for arciving. Operations that can be performed on the current statistical array are: column totals, column means, column-wise standard deviations, column maxima, column minima, bar plot, histogram plot, scatter plot, best fit between linear, exponential, power and logarithmic models, generation of the equation of the best fit line, plotting of the best fit line on top of the scatter plot, linear regression, predicted x, predicted y, correlation coefficient, covariance, summary statistics x, y, x^2, y^2, xy and n so that you can programmably create new statistical functions. Aside from the statistical arrays, the 48 provides combinations, permutations, factorial, gamma, random number, upper tail probabilities: chi-square, Snedecor's F, normal, and student's t. A complete set of matrix math functions rounds out the statistically related functions --- though integration, differentiation, plotting, equation solver, unit management, programmability and symbollic calculations are all nice additions to make for a well-rounded statistical calculator. Speaking of rounding, real numbers on the 48 have 12-digit mantissas and 3-digit exponent (+-499) as well as number rounding, truncation and significant digit calculation. By the way, the 28S has many of these features, but not all. It may be worth a look as well. Hope this helps. John