Calculator use

[Stick]

When should I be using my calculator for homework tasks? For Further, I was able to use it whenever I liked because all assessments allowed the use of calculators, but Methods and Specialist have non-calculator assessments next year. While I was doing my Specialist headstart work, I tried to refrain from using the calculator and I only turned to it when the numbers got quite messy to do by hand. Is this a good strategy?

[pi]

I used MQ and the book had a no-calc symbol for non-calc questions. I'm assuming other books have the same?

If not, your approach seems fine.

[Stick]

The Essentials textbooks only do that for the chapter reviews. :S

[nisha]

When I did Spesh, I took a no-calculator approach to almost everything (except the differential equations graphs), which meant that my algebra consistently improved throughout the year and I was making less and less mistakes.
It was only maybe 1 month before the exams that I learned how to use my calculator properly (the touch screen cas one) and only relied on it doing Exam 2 MC and the graphs. I don't know, I prefer seeing my working out because showing the steps is very important.

[polar]

in essentials, it's obvious they want you to use a calculator when it tells you to give your answers in decimals because finding it by hand is not in the course. in exams, they make questions harder because they assume people can use their CAS calculators to solve equations, do simultaneous equations... so it's important to be able to use a CAS effectively.

also, topics like probability (for example, finding the cumulative probability for a random variable with a binomial distribution) in methods and parts of differential equations (for example, numerical methods) in specialist require the use of a calculator, so it depends on the topic as well.