I am preparing to take a pre-algebra class in college. It's been 20 years since I've been in school, and in high school I failed algebra, because of this I have chosen careers that avoided math altogether. I never understood the need for combining letters with numbers. lol. As far as I was concerned, letters are for reading, writing, literature, etc. and numbers are for counting. The whole thing always looked like a jumbled mess and scared the crap out of me. I want to make sure that I have the right instrument for the job. The course simply calls for a Scientific Calculator. I have noticed on here that people have definite preferences about which calculators to use. Since I am a newbie to algebra and will be progressing on from there, I need to know what is the best thing to start out with that will be good for the basics on through to the more complicated classes. My goal is a degree in O.T., so math is a must. The school suggests the TI-84+. How far will that get me? Can I get away with starting out with something higher, will it help me more? I appreciate your advice, but please don't respond as if I am an idiot and talk down to me.
