MR.

IRONS’
CALCULATOR TUTORIAL FOR CHEMISTRY
 Calculators are NOT required for Chemistry at West Ranch High
School.

 Non-programmable, Non-Graphing, Scientific calculators use is

allowed in class and on most tests.

Calculators can, however, be both a trusty helpful tool and a source of

terrible frustration for the many types of calculations required in the
our science courses. For many of us the basic mathematical operations
of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division come naturally
when using a calculator. The problem in my many years of observing
students is how to enter the information into the calculator for complex
mathematical relationships so that it gives you a trustworthy result.

Example:

P = (5.21 x10-4 kPa)( 7.38 L)

(8.31 kPa * L) (375.4 K)
Mol * K

This looks terribly complicated to the new student a however it is quite manageable with the right calculator,

understanding the data entry style calculator requires, and a little practice

This tutorial will offer suggestions on the type of calculator and how to
use the calculator to solve your problems easily and comfortably.

CHOOSING A CALCULATOR

For the novice student, choosing a calculator can be just as frustrating

and learning how to use that calculator. Because students generally
have little or no background in chemistry or what to expect upon the
outset of the class, purchasing a calculator becomes a guess, gamble,
or blind choice.

There are several options and the only critical feature is that the
calculator has a science setting. A science functional ability is simply
the ability to enter and manipulate scientific notation easily. Scientific
notation allows students to use incredibly large numbers such as 6.02 x
1023.

HELPFUL FEATURES
 Multiple Lines of text
  True math view (i.e. what you see on the page is what you see on
the calculator)
 Cursor Key (This makes editing mistakes much easier to fix)

Here are some common varieties of Calculator

Texas Instruments
TI-30 series

Price : $10.00 - $40.00

These are my personal favorite. They are

easy to use, cheap, and come in a variety
of stylish colors to match your personality.

** I do not own stock in Texas Instruments nor

do I receive any compensation for this opinion.

Casio fx-115es

Price : $10.00 - $40.00

This is a fine calculator and many

students over the years have advocated
this calculator. It does require a few
nuances that I don’t think come naturally
so save the instructions.

Sharp El-531W

Price : $10.00 - $40.00

Another popular choice, but I have not

used this calculator much. Many students
have been successful with this calculator

** There are many other band names and models. These calculators,
however, seem to be the most favored by successful students.
Entering Scientific Notation into a Calculator
Being able to enter scientific notation into your calculator correctly is an important skill
to know for a chemistry course. There are three common types of calculators used by
students in a chemistry course, and they are:
1. Graphing Calculators
2. Multiple Line Scientific Calculators
3. One Line Scientific Calculators

Let us say that we wish to enter the number 6.63 x 10 34 into our calculator. Instructions
are given below for the different types of calculators.

Using a Graphing Calculator or a Multiple Line Scientific Calculator:

1. Type in the coefficient portion of the number (i.e. in our case above, enter 6.63).

2. Press the [EE] or [EXP] key (NOTE: some calculators may have you press the [2nd]
function key first).

3. Press the change sign [(−)] or [ + /‐] key, and then enter the exponent (in our example
given above, this would be 34), and then press the right parenthesis [)] button. NOTE: if
your exponent is NOT negative, skip step 3!

4. Press [Enter] or [=].

Notice that you do not type the number “10” anywhere in the above steps…this is
because using the [EE] or [EXP] keys takes care of that for you.

Using a One Line Scientific Calculator:

1. Type in the coefficient portion of the number (i.e. in our case above, enter 6.63).

2. Press the [EE] or [EXP] key.

3. Press the change sign [(−)] or [ + /‐] key, and then enter the exponent (in our example
given above, this would be 34. NOTE: if your exponent is NOT negative, skip step 3!

4. Press [Enter] or [=].

Notice that you do not type the number “10” anywhere in the above steps…this is
because using the [EE] or [EXP] keys takes care of that for you.