Education Technology

Solution 34717: Graphing Angle Measures Using the TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition Graphing Calculator.

How do I graph angle measures using the TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition graphing calculator?

When graphing the measure of an angle using the TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition, it will be graphed as a system of 2 parametric equations. This is done because the standard function graphing mode is limited to solving for Y= functions in which the "x" is the independent variable and "y" is the dependent variable.

Follow the steps below to graph an angle measure:

• Press [MODE], scroll down to PARAMETRIC and press [ENTER]. This will change the handheld's graphing mode to parametric.

• Press [ZOOM] [6] to select ZStandard (Zoom Standard). This will set the handheld's graphing window settings to the default values.
• Press [ZOOM] [5] to select ZSquare (Zoom Square). This will "square up" the graphing window values and reduce distortion.
• Press [Y=] to enter the Y= editor.
• Enter the following for X1T and Y1T. These equations will define the "base line".

X1T=T
Y1T=0

• Enter the following for X2T and Y2T.

NOTE: This example uses 20° as the angle measure.

X2T=Tcos(20)
Y2T=Tsin(20)

• Press [WINDOW] and check the following settings. Entering the values below will ensure that the angle graphs to the edges of the screen.

Tmin=0
Tmax=20
Tstep=1

• Press [GRAPH].

Please see the TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition guidebook for additional information.