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The College Mathematics Journal article: Graphing with the HP-28S.
Article in The College Mathematics Journal · November 1989
DOI: 10.2307/2686933
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Graphing with the HP-28S
Author(s): John Selden and Annie Selden
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The College Mathematics Journal, Vol. 20, No. 5 (Nov., 1989), pp. 423-432
Published by: Mathematical Association of America
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COMPUTER
CORNER
Edited by
Eugene A. Herman
In thiscolumn,readers are encouraged to share theirexpertiseand experiences withcomputersas
Articlesthatillustratehow computerscan be used to enhance
theyrelateto college level mathematics.
pedagogy, solve problems,and model real-lifesituationsare especiallywelcome.
All manuscriptsforthis columnshould be prepared according to the guidelines on the inside front
cover and sent to:
Eugene A. Herman
DepartmentofMathematics
GrinnellCollege
IA50112
Grinnell,
Graphing with the HP-28S
John Selden
Annie Selden
John Selden received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the
University of Georgia in 1963 and subsequently taught at
various universities in the U.S. and abroad. He was Dean of
Science at Bayero University in Kano, Nigeria before return?
ing to the US. in 1985 to teach at Tennessee Technological
University. His research interests are in topological semi?
groups, artificial intelligence, and tertiarymathematics edu?
cation. He edits (with his wife, Annie Selden) the Research
Sampler column of UME Trends. He is currently investigat?
ing inverse semigroups on the plane, analyzing misconcep?
tions in student proofs, and designing an experimental calculus sequence using notes
and the HP-28S,
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Annie Selden received her B.A. from Oberlin in 1959, her
M.A. from Yale in 1962, and her Ph.D. from Clarkson in
1974. She has taught at universities in the U.S. and abroad.
While at Bayero University in Kano, Nigeria, she adminis?
tered the day-to-day affairs of the Mathematics Department
She has been teaching at Tennessee Technological Univer?
sity since 1985. Her research is in locally compact topologi-
cal semigroups and tertiary mathematics education. She
edits (with her husband, John Selden) the Research Sam?
pler column of UME Trends. This paper arose from an
attempt to make the HP-28S more user-friendly for calculus students.
In teaching beginning calculus and other entry-level college courses, one would like
to emphasize conceptual understanding and mathematical thinking, instead of
routine manipulation. At one time this meant judiciously selecting examples in
which the computations were not too difficult for students to carry out with pencil
and paper. Now, using computers and calculators, it is technically possible for
students to explore more complex examples on their own. Unfortunately, the time
and tedium of calculation may simply be replaced by the time and tedium of
learning to use a particular computing device.
One such device, the HP-28S, is now owned by many mathematics faculty and, if
our university is typical, by quite a number of students. The HP-28S, with its 32K of
memory, is really a pocket computer, and many observations on classroom use of
microcomputers and computer algebra systems apply to it [1], [2], [3], [7]. This year
we are teaching an experimental calculus sequence to volunteers, who are required
to have this calculator. The aim is to find ways of teaching that enable students to
solve nonroutine problems. In a recent study we found that average students from
traditional calculus courses have great difficulty solving problems even slightly
different from those presented in the text or classroom [6]. Our hope is that the
HP-28S will enable the routine parts of calculus to be taught quickly [3], and, hence,
provide time for students to practice solving novel problems. Our interest in the
HP-28S is partly in its portability and availability to students at all times.
In exploring the capabilities of the HP-28S for this purpose, we discovered that
students could easily get bogged down in learning how to use it efficiently. The
flexibility needed in such a general-purpose scientific calculator prevents it from
calcu?
being maximally convenient for specialized applications, such as a beginning
lus course. Students could be taught to program the HP-28S to make it more
convenient, but having students design appropriate systems of programs is time
consuming and would interfere with the primary objective of our course. Comment?
to become
ing on the similar HP-28C, Tucker remarked, "It takes ten hours
proficient enough to begin to realize the potential of this calculator, and one could
spend weeks exploring the nooks and crannies of the machine" [8].
This paper presents a system of programs to make graphing easier on the
HP-28S. They enable students to reflect on and refine a variety of examples without
being distracted by the mechanics of operating the calculator. A typical function
needs to be viewed in variously scaled rectangles or windows for greater accuracy [1]
or to avoid coming to incorrect conclusions [2]. Sometimes one wants to zoom in on
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a piece of the graph. Other times, one wants to look elsewhere for the interesting
behavior, but a new window may give a worse view. OLWIN, one of the programs
described here, recovers the previous window quickly. Some of the other programs
work in ways similar to commands already available; e.g., Draw is similar to
DRAW. The system that we are proposing can save time and frustration.
The graphing programs are called Draw, CLR, MOVE, ZOOM, WIN, and
OLWIN and allow one to change the center and scale of the viewing window easily,
as well as to recover the previous viewing window. Also included are two
"housekeeping" programs, PARNT and Order, which should be installed before the
graphing programs for efficient storage, as well as the program, DFix, which fixes a
bug in the HP-28S command DRAW. DRAW works well in isolation but should
not be called upon in a program; instead use DFix.
Perhaps the most useful of these programs is OLWIN because it saves time. In
order to execute it, one needs Draw and DFix. The other programs presented in this
paper can be omitted, if desired, although it is convenient to have them on the
USER menu. A student can install the programs without understanding the details
of how they work.
All existing commands on the PLOT menu, except DRAW, can be used in
conjunction with these programs. Additionally, one can write other graphing pro?
grams (e.g., for polar coordinates) that are compatible. Compatibility can be assured
by naming a new graphing program DFix and placing it in a subdirectory, say
POLAR, below that of the programs given in this paper. Naming two programs
DFix causes no problems as long as they are in two different directories. POLAR
should also contain the program <? {CLR Draw MOVE OLWIN WIN ZOOM
PARNT} MENU ? , which can be named Menu. When Menu is run, the listed
programs (CLR, Draw, etc.) appear on the USER menu, and those calling on DFix
will automatically substitute the new graphing program. This trick may seem odd,
but it works well.
Two Scenarios
Consider the following effort of a naive student to view the graph of y = xsin-
without aids or guidance as illustrated in Figure 1.
Invalid PPflR
I I I I ? I 2:
I I I ? I ? > > ???? ?.'?'ID l:
STEGRCEQMXNtMHX
INDePDRAW
(a) (b) (c)
I ?? ? ?? t ? > * >. >' > i> > >l ? t ? y -*? ,t > I ?> ? ?I
(d) (e) (0
1
?
Figure1. FirstScenario:A naivestudentattemptsto graphx sin on theHP-28S.
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Enter 'X * SIN(INV(X))' on the stack, store it in EQ using STEQ, found on the
PLOT menu, and press DRAW. After some time, the result appears on the display,
(a). Unfortunately, the plot parameters PPAR from a previous use of DRAW were
not removed.
Enter 'PPAR' and PURGE. Press DRAW again, and after a while, (b) appears.
Use the cursor keys and INS to choose the lower left and upper right corners of a
window about the origin. Press PMIN, PMAX, and DRAW to get the display
shown in (c)?not a graph, but an error message. PMIN and PMAX were executed
in the wrong order, causing the window to have negative height and width.
Start again. Enter 'PPAR', PURGE, and DRAW and wait for (d). Next use the
cursor keys and INS to enter the lower left and upper right corners of a new
window. Then clear the display with ON and press PMAX, PMIN, and DRAW.
Soon (e) appears. Do this again to get (f). It's clear such a student needs help.
Consider graphing the same function using the programs in this paper and the
following advice. To graph a new function, always start with CLR to return the
viewing rectangle to default position. If part of a graph looks like Figure 1(f), try
using a square in WIN, thereby stretching the horizontal axis. To follow the
behavior of a graph as it runs off the display, use MOVE. If a new display gives a
worse view, use OLWIN to recover the original.
Enter the function x sin? as before, press CLR followed by Draw to get Figure
= 1 is a horizontal asymptote. Next use 10 ZOOM to explore
2(a). This suggests y
the graph near the origin, (b). As further use of ZOOM probably won't help, press
OLWIN, which is very fast, to return to (a), and try WIN as follows.
\ /
fm. I I I M hti ii>ii ? ? t i *\j i m?i,?'f?? ? ?>?i u^i
ll|Vl
v
(a) (b) (c)
"?? * v v /
v T: \ ;
/
\\ i y<.
EiVy'i
(d) (e) (f)
Figure2. Second Scenario:A littleadviceand theseprogramsgivemoreinformation.
Use the cursor keys, followed by INS, to select a small square about the origin,
press ON and WIN to get (c). Next use the cursor keys to get a window excluding
the origin, and press WIN again to obtain a reasonably good local picture, (d). To
follow the behavior of the graph to the right and see how (d) fits with the larger
picture obtained in (a), press OLWIN to return to (c), move the cursor towards the
upper right and press INS, ON, and MOVE to obtain (e). Do this again to get (f).
This sequence gives a good overall idea of the graph.
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A Few Technical Remarks
Although the HP-28S has output via a printer, the only way to input a program is to
type it in. Thus, we have included not only descriptions of each of the programs, but
also the actual code.
The programs may appear longer than necessary because safeguards have been
included to prevent them from reacting badly when executed in unintended se?
quence or with unintended input. These safeguards are needed in the HP-28S, as
variables can exist independently of the programs using them.
To install a program, enter it on the stack; i.e., type it in and press ENTER. Then
enter the name of the program in single quotes, e.g., 'Draw', and press STO. DRAW
will appear on the USER menu, which shows only capital letters. Commands need
not be typed in; they may be entered from the menus. For example, PATH is on the
MEMORY menu; see the alphabetical listing [5, beginning p. 324]. However,
commands containing special symbols (e.g., ->) must be entered from the menus.
Running programs are indicated by the "busy" annunciator symbol, ((?)), on the
display. Pressing ON during execution will normally stop a program but may leave
unwanted entries on the stack. Programs that cannot be stopped in this way have
entered an endless loop and can usually be stopped by performing a system halt,
leaving the memory intact [4, p. 217]. The PRINT menu is inaccessible while a
graph is displayed; however, the graph can be printed by pressing the ON and L
keys simultaneously [4, p. 91].
Finally, the comments in italics are not part of the programs to be entered.
The Housekeeping Programs
PARNT. This littleprogramchangesthe currentdirectoryfroma subdirectory to its parentdirectory
[4, p. 60]. It is oftenusefulto groupprogramsin directories.
For example,thesegraphingprogramsmight
be put in a directorycalled GRAPH. Since thecalculatorcan onlyfindvariablesin thecurrentdirectory
or directoriesabove thecurrentone, it is necessaryto be able to movearoundthedirectory [Link]
can be put in the top directory, called HOME, or copied into severalsubdirectories.
<^ Starttheprogram.
{HOME} Put thisone wordliston thestack.
PATH Enterthelistofdirectories fromHOME to thecurrentone.
+ Combinethetwolistsintoone.
DUP Enteranothercopyof theliston thestack.
SIZE Replacethelistwithitssize, say n.
1 Put 1 on thestack.
? i.e., n ? 1, which
Replace level two and level one withtheirdifference,
cannotbe 0.
? ?
GET Replacethepath listand n 1 withthe (n l)-st entryin thelist.
EVAL Go to thatdirectory,i.e., theparentdirectory.
? End theprogram.
Order. This programarrangesthe presentationof programnames on the USER menu to be: CLR,
Draw, MOVE, OLWIN, WIN, ZOOM, Order. Withoutit, the names will move to the rightas new
variables are added on the [Link], the placementof the programson the USER menu is constantly
changing,and this may encourageuser [Link] in the next version of the calculator this
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will be [Link] ensurethatOrder executesproperly,all the above
unfortunatedesign characteristic
programsmustbe in thecurrentdirectory.
Starttheprogram.
{CLR Draw MOVE Entertheliston thestack.
OLWIN WIN
ZOOM Order}
ORDER Orderthedirectory
accordingto thelist.
End theprogram.
A Program to Fix DRAW
DFix. This programdoes whatDRAW is supposed to do whenit is called in a program;i.e., it draws
the graph of the function(s)storedin EQ using the informationin PPAR, the plot parameter,without
leaving an unwanted numberon the stack. Note that when DRAW or DFix is called in a program,
neitherautomaticallyclears the displaynor activatesthe cursorkeys,unlikewhen DRAW is executed
fromthe PLOT [Link] difficulty withcallingDRAW in a programis thatforcertainfunctions, such
as x H?, numbersare added to thestackbecause of an incorrectly
designedloop. DFix shouldbe put in
x
the top directory,HOME.
Starttheprogram.
RAD Convertto radianmode.
[1] Enterflj to marktheend of theexistingstack.
IFERR WhileexecutingDBA W, lookforan error,
DRAW perhapsfromthenonexistence of EQ or PPAR.
THEN If thereis a DBA W error,drop[1] and call
DROP DBA W again to get theerrormessageand
DRAW abortprogramscontaining DFix.
ELSE If thereis no DBA W error,place
[1] an additional[1] on thestack.
WHILE Whilethelast twoentriesare different,
i.e.,
SAME thereis a numberbetweenthetwoflj's, add [1]
NOT to thestackand [Link] that
REPEAT executingSA ME removestwoentries fromthe
[1] stack,e.g., the[1] and thenumberbeforeit.
END End WHILE.
END End IFEBB.
End theprogram.
The Graphing Programs
Draw. This programappears to produce the same resultas the commandDRAW; i.e., it clears the
display, draws the graph,and activatesthe cursorkeys. In addition,Draw alters a variable, DVar,
containinginformationnecessaryto retrievethepreviousdisplay.
When Draw is executed,it storesthe currentdisplay in DVar as a [Link] is a list of four
objects: old and new versionsof both PPAR and the [Link] firstreplaces the old versionsof
PPAR and [Link] thenstoresthecurrentPPAR and displayin DVar as the
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new [Link] DVar does not exist,Draw createsit using thecurrentPPAR and displayforboth old
and new [Link] requiresa functionin EQ. This is providedusing STEQ on the PLOT menu.
Begintheprogram.
CLLCD Clear theliquidcrystaldisplay.
DFix Draw thegraph(and createPPAR if needed).
PPAR EnterPPAR on thestack.
LCD-> Enterthedisplayas a stringon thestack.
DVar EnterDVar on thestack. If it does notexist,
thename 'DVar' willbe entered.
IFERR LookforLIST^ errorin case DVar
LIST-* did notexist.
THEN If DVar did notexist,remove
DROP 'DVar' fromthestack.
2 Duplicatetwolevelson thestack,
DUPN i.e., PPAR and thedisplaystring.
4 Convert4 levelsof thestack
-?LIST to a list.
'DVar7 Enter'DVar' on thestackand
STO storethelistin it.
Order Reordertheusermenu(optionaland slow).
ELSE If D Var existed,it is nowonfour
ROLLD levelsof thestackwitha 4 on level1.
4 Interchange thefirsttwowiththe
ROLLD secondtwoof theselevels.
DROP Drop twolevelsfromthestack.
DROP
4 Interchangetheremainingtwo
ROLLD levelswiththetwoabove.
4
ROLLD
4 Convert4 levelsof thestack
-?LIST to a list.
'DVar' Enterthename 'DVar' on thestack.
STO Storethelistin DVar.
END End IFERR.
DGTIZ Activatethecursorkeys.
End theprogram.
CLR. This programclears the currentPPAR, DVar, and X frommemoryand should be executed
before graphinga new [Link] case an independentvariable otherthan X is used, that variable
should also be [Link] of CLR assuresthattheviewingrectanglewillbe restoredto defaultposition
in the nextexecutionof Draw. Note thatDVar uses about IK of memory.
The use of errorsfortypecheckingis an integralpart of [Link] an erroris detected,
the stackis returnedto [Link] be surethishappens,flag31 mustbe set,i.e.,
contain a 1. This is the defaultsetting;however,in case it is altered,CLR will restoreit.
<^ Starttheprogram.
31 Enter31 on thestack.
SF Remove31 fromthestackand setflag 31.
{PPAR DVar X} Enterthelistofvariablesto be removed.
PURGE Removethem.
? End theprogram.
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MOVE. This programappears to produce the same resultas CENTR followedby DRAW; i.e., it
moves the centerof the viewingrectangleto a pointpreviouslyenteredon thestack,oftenby means of
the cursorkeys. In addition,it altersDVar. For example,to followa graphmove the cursorto a point
wherethe graphleaves thedisplayand pressINS, ON, and MOVE. The graphwill be drawnagain with
thatpoint in the centerof thenew display.
Starttheprogram.
CENTR Take a pointfromthestackand recordit as the
centercomponentof thelistPPAB.
Draw GraphthefunctionusingthenewPPAB.
End theprogram.
ZOOM. This programdividesthe scale of the displayby a numberpreviouslyenteredon the stack,
alters DVar, and redrawsthe [Link] example,entering10 ZOOM causes marks on the axes to
represent^ theirpreviouslength,therebyenlargingwhat previouslyappeared in the middle of the
displayby a factorof 10.
<?: Starttheprogram.
INV Beplace levelone of thestack
DUP byitsreciprocaland duplicateit.
IFERR Lookforan error.
*W Changethescale of thewidth.
THEN If therewas an error,droptheextraentry.
DROP Beturnthestack to its
INV originalformand call * W again
*W fortheerrormessage.
ELSE If therewas no *W error,change
*H thescale of theheight.
Draw GraphthefunctionusingthenewPPAB.
END End IFEBB.
End theprogram.
WIN. This program assumes that two points were previouslyenteredon the stack, thefirstone
representing thelowerleftcornerand thesecondtheupperrightcornerof a [Link]
points will be obtained fromthe displayby manipulatingthe cursorkeys and pressingINS. WIN will
thenredrawthe graphand alterDVar accordingly.
Starttheprogram.
DUP Duplicatestackentry1.
IFERR Lookforan error.
PMAX Becordthesecondpointin PPAB.
THEN If therewas a PMAX error,then
DROP droptheextraentryand
PMAX call PMAX againfortheerrormessage.
ELSE If therewas no PMA X error
SWAP interchangethetwopoints.
IFERR Lookforan error.
PMIN Becordthefirstpointin PPAB.
THEN If therewas a PMIN error,then
SWAP returnthestackto its
1300 originalorderand givea warning
.07 beepof 1300 c/sec. for.07 sec.
BEEP
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ERRM DisplaythePMIN errormessage
1 on line1 and end theprogram.
DISP
ELSE If therewas no PMIN error,then
DROP droptheremaining point.
Draw GraphthefunctionusingthenewPPAR.
END End inner(second) IFERR.
END End outer(first)IFERR.
End theprogram.
OLWIN. This programdisplaysthe [Link] also interchangesthe new and old sectionsof
PressingOLWIN twicereturnsone to [Link] DVar
DVar and adjusts PPAR appropriately.
does not exist,OLWIN calls Draw.
Starttheprogram.
DVar EnterDVar or 'DVar' if DVar does notexist.
IFERR Checktheexistenceof D Var.
LIST-^ Put DVar on 4 stacklevelsand put 4 on level1.
THEN If therewas a LIST'-* error,DVar does
DROP notexistso dropthename 'DVar' and
Draw runDraw.
ELSE If therewas no LIST -* error,reverse
ROLLD thenewand old D Var information
4 nowon thestackbyrollingdown
ROLLD 4 places twice.
2 Duplicatetwostackpositions.
DUPN
SWAP Interchangestacklevel1 and 2.
'PPAR' Place thename 'PPAR' on thestack.
STO Storethecontents oflevel2 in PPAR.
5 Roll down5 levelson thestack.
ROLLD
4 Convert4 levelsof thestackto a list.
-^LIST
'DVar' Storethelist (the old DVar withnew
STO and old sectionsreversed)as DVar.
CLLCD Clear the (liquid crystal)display.
-^LCD Place thestringrepresentation of theold
displayon thedisplay.
DGTIZ Activatethecursorkeys.
END End IFERR.
End theprogram.
Finally severalviewsof a graphcan be storedin memoryand [Link] storea viewenter
DVar, a variablename,say 'Gl', and STO. To retrievea viewenterGl, 'DVar', STO, and OLWIN. Since
DVar uses IK of memory,thesevariablesshouldbe purgedwhenno longerneeded.
[Link] authorsthankFred Lintonof WesleyanUniversityforsuggestingthe improved
versionof PARNT includedin thispaper.
REFERENCES
The CollegeMathemat?
1. FranklinDemana and BertK. Waits,Problemsolvingusingmicrocomputers,
ics Journal18 (May 1987) 236-241.
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2. _, or whya singlegraphisn'tenough,The CollegeMathemat?
Pitfallsin graphicalcomputation,
ics Journal19 (March 1988) 177-183.
3. M. KathleenHeid, Resequencingskillsand conceptsin appliedcalculususingthecomputeras a tool,
Journalfor Besearchin MathematicsEducation19 (1988) 3-25.
4. HP-28S Owner'sManual,Edition1, November1987.
5. HP-28S BeferenceManual,Edition1, October1987.
6. John Selden, Alice Mason, and Annie Selden, Can average calculus studentssolve nonroutine
problems?,The JournalofMathematicalBehavior8 (April 1989) 45-50.
7. Don Small, JohnHosack, KennethLane, Computeralgebra systemsin undergraduateinstruction,
The CollegeMathematics Journal17 (November1986) 423-433.
8. Thomas Tucker,Calculatorswitha collegeeducation?,Calculusfora New Century:A Pump, Not a
Filter,MAA Notes 8 (1987) 229-231.
Surface Area of a Cone
\.
-1(2^)-?|
Area - at2
'i(2wr)
Area - irrs
V-i-^(2^+2^) -A
Area ~ irfa + r2)-s
Spokane,WA
byHerbHolden,GonzagaUniversity,
Contributed
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