Classic CAS manual · Chapter 6 of 16

Menus, templates and catalog

The Menu, Home menu, templates, symbols, relations, trig menu, catalog and variable list: what each one holds and how to choose from it.

6.1How menus work#

A menu lists items with numbers 1 to 9, and then letters A, B, C… Press a number or letter key to choose that item, or use ▲ and ▼ and press enter. esc closes the menu. Choosing a function pastes its name with an opening bracket into your entry.

menu
3 Algebra
1 solve(
type the arguments

Pick an item by number: for example solve is in Algebra (3), first item (1).

6.2The Menu key#

The Menu on the calculator page (nine categories; Complex and Settings follow Matrix and Vector). The display shows: Menu / 1: Actions / 2: Number / 3: Algebra / 4: Calculus / 5: Probability / 6: Statistics / 7: Matrix & Vector. — The Menu on the calculator page (nine categories; Complex and Settings follow Matrix and Vector).

Item	Name	What it holds
1	Actions	Define, Delete Variable, :=, →, the with bar \|, Clear History
2	Number	approx, exact, factor, propFrac, gcd, lcm, mod, remain, floor, ceiling, round, iPart, fPart, isprime, abs, sign
3	Algebra	solve, factor, expand, zeros, cSolve, cFactor, cZeros, nSolve, comDenom, propFrac, getNum, getDenom, left, right, polyQuotient, polyRemainder, polyGcd, polyDegree, polyCoeffs
4	Calculus	Derivative, Integral, Definite integral, Limit, Sum, Product, taylor, nDeriv, nInt, arcLen, tangentLine, normalLine, fMin, fMax, impDif
5	Probability	Factorial, nCr, nPr, rand, randInt, normCdf, normPdf, invNorm, binomPdf, binomCdf, poissPdf, poissCdf, geomPdf, geomCdf, tCdf, invt
6	Statistics	mean, median, stDevSamp, stDevPop, varSamp, varPop, sum, product, cumulativeSum, seq, max, min
7	Matrix & Vector	2×2 matrix, det, rref, ref, identity, Transpose, dotP, crossP, norm, dim, rowDim, colDim, augment
8	Complex	𝑖, real, imag, conj, angle, abs
9	Settings	Opens the Settings form

Example 6.1

Solve from the Algebra menu

Press menu, 3, 1. Then type the equation and the variable, and close the bracket.
menu31x^2▶−5x+6=0,x)enter

Example 6.2

Factor from the Algebra menu

Press menu, 3, 2 (factor), type x^3 − x.
menu32x^3▶−x)enter

6.3The Home menu#

The Home menu. The display shows: Home / 1: Calculator / 2: Graphs / 3: Settings / 4: Clear History / 5: Clear a–z (all variables) / 6: Reset. — The Home menu.

Item	What it does
1 Calculator	Go to the calculator page.
2 Graphs	Go to the graphs page.
3 Settings	Open the settings form.
4 Clear History	Clear the calculator screen; variables stay.
5 Clear a–z (all variables)	Forget every stored variable and function.
6 Reset	Reset everything: history, variables, settings and graphs.

6.4Templates: fractions, roots, integrals#

Templates draw maths as you would write it, with boxes for the parts. Type in the first box, then press ▶ (or tab) to move to the next box. ▲ and ▼ also move between boxes.

The Templates menu (14 items; the rest are scrolled below). The display shows: Templates / 1: Fraction □/□ / 2: Power □^□ / 3: Square root √□ / 4: Nth root ⁿ√□ / 5: e^□ / 6: log_□(□) / 7: Absolute |□|. — The Templates menu (14 items; the rest are scrolled below).

Item	Template	Boxes to fill, in order
1	Fraction	top, bottom
2	Power	exponent
3	Square root	radicand
4	Nth root	index, radicand
5	e to a power	exponent
6	log with a base	base, argument
7	Absolute value	value
8	Derivative d/dx	variable, expression
9	Integral	expression, variable
A	Definite integral	lower, upper, expression, variable
B	Sum Σ	variable, start, end, expression
C	Product Π	variable, start, end, expression
D	Limit	variable, target, expression
E	Mixed number	whole, numerator, denominator

Example 6.3

Absolute value template

Open templates, choose 7, type negative 7, press enter.
templates7(−)7enter

6.5Symbols and relations#

ctrlsymbolstemplates opens a list of symbols: ∞, θ, °, !, ≠, ≤, ≥, |, →, :=, ᵀ and the imaginary unit. ctrl≠≥▸= opens the relations list: =, ≠, <, >, ≤, ≥, | and :=. These are the only ways to type the signs < > ≤ ≥ ≠.

The Symbols menu. The display shows: Symbols / 1: ∞ / 2: θ / 3: ° / 4: ! / 5: ≠ / 6: ≤ / 7: ≥. — The Symbols menu.

The Relations menu. The display shows: Relations / 1: = / 2: ≠ / 3: < / 4: > / 5: ≤ / 6: ≥ / 7: |. — The Relations menu.

Example 6.4

Compare two numbers

Type 3, open relations (ctrl =), choose > (item 4), type 2.
3ctrl≠≥▸=42enter

Example 6.5

A false statement

Type 3 = 4.
3=4enter

6.6The catalog#

catalog lists every function name alphabetically. Press a letter key to jump to the first name starting with that letter, then press enter to paste it.

Catalog after pressing t: the first name starting with t is selected. The display shows: Catalog / sinh( / solve( / sqrt( / stDevPop( / stDevSamp( / sum( / tan(. — Catalog after pressing t: the first name starting with t is selected.

Example 6.6

Paste factor( from the catalog

Press catalog, press f, press enter, then type the expression.
catalogfenterx^2▶−1)enter

6.7The variable list#

var shows the variables you have stored and the functions you have defined. Choose one to paste its name.

Example 6.7

Paste a variable

Store 4 in q, then press var, enter, and add 1.
q:=4entervarenter+1enter

TI-Nspire CX CAS is a trademark of Texas Instruments Incorporated. Trident Calculator is an independent product by South View Studios and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Texas Instruments. The name is used only to describe the kind of calculator this model resembles; Trident's names, keys, display, fonts and software are its own clean-room design.