HP Prime calculating bug

Hi, I'll get right to the issue i'm having with my HP Prime calculator. Recently during an exam where i was calculating the moments of inertia of certain bodies i encountered what i can only describe as a bug in the software because I can't figure any other reason why it would kick out the answer it did for such a seemingly simple function. After I had done all the laboreous work of simplifying the differential equations I just needed to add some simple fractions. As i have been operating this calculator for several weeks now, the only way i can get it to show a fraction in exact form is to type (number) / (number) and it shows it in exact form. In my case and for this particular calcuation I input (3/20) - (1/7) "enter". the answer Prime gave me was noticably unsimplified given that i needed it in simplified form. although the numerical, non-exact value was almost correct (.00714285714309 instead of the correct value of .00714285714286), generally Prime kicks out a simplified value. What it gave me was 214500215/30030030099 instead of 1/140. i'm just curious if i need to do something different to get a simplified/correct answer on the first go rather than having to do a work-around.
Thanks in advance

If you want an exact and simplified answer on the first go, do your calculation in CAS view rather than Home view. Try this experiment.
1. Go to CAS view, and enter your calculation (3/20)-(1/7). The Prime will respond with 1/140, the exact answer. Now press the a b/c key. The Prime will respond with 0.00714285714286, the approximate decimal equivalent. Keep pressing the a b/c key, and the Prime will toggle between the two answers.
2. Now try the same steps in Home view. The Prime will toggle between 0.007142857143 and 214500215/30030030099.
Remember, the true decimal value for 1/140 is an infinite repeating number. Since every calculator can store only a finite number of digits, it must truncate the value after a set number of digits, and this introduces a small error. The big fraction you got in Home view is not wrong, and it's certainly not a bug. It's just that Home view is not designed to handle exact values. The CAS, on the other hand, is designed to handle exact values, so when you tell it to show an approximate answer, its decimal form will be closer to the exact value, namely, 1/140.
The moral of the story is, use CAS view when you want exact values and Home view when you want approximate values. I tell my students to use fractions whenever possible (since those are usually exact) rather than converting them to decimal values. It's far easier to use 1/3 than 0.33333....[infinite number of 3s go here].

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If you chose "Digit Grouping" containing spaces or other signs, the solver stops working for larger numbers than 999...
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/Hans

Hi,
These problems have been reported here:
http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-1443.html
http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-1705.html
http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-1565.html
Regards.
Note: I do not work for HP, I just like playing with calculators :-)

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The standard Mac Calculator v4.2 (the lastest version as of writing) has some basic bugs it seems...
Try typing each of these. I'm using 15 decimal places in scientific mode, in Degrees, not in Reverse Polish (RPN) mode:
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1E22,sin (in radians) gives 0 but the correct answer is -0.8522008497671888017...
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typewriter wrote:
I'll add one more MAJOR calculator bug to the list.
The trig functions are completely wrong.
Examples :
COS(135) --> .707 (in degrees - should be negative)
I get - 0.707
COS(3) --> .989 (in radians - should be negative)
I get -0.99
SIN(-45) --> .8509 (degrees - should be negative)
I get -0.7091 - you are still in radians mode and even there the answer I get is -0.8509
Wrong wrong wrong. I can't even conceive HOW these could go wrong. Wouldn't the COS button on the calc just use the cos() function in the code?
You are correct about being wrong, but I cannot duplicate it on my calculator. The error is on your system. I believe you have a corrupt file somewhere.
And after pressing the Cos button:
Message was edited by: nerowolfe
Message was edited by: nerowolfe

Prime calculator stuck in radians?

Hi there, this is my first post on this forum site and hopefully I do all this correct. But my question is how do you switch between radians and degrees (as far as modes) on the HP Prime calculator? I thought it was touch the top right corner and then touch either of the symbols? I could have swore that was the way i did it before; but today when I went to switch to degrees the screen was unresponsive when that drop down menu would appear. So then from the CAS screen I went into settings and tried to change the mode there, and I could select between the two but when I would go back to the CAS screen and then back to the settings screen to see if it did indeed stay, the drop down bar would say radians again... I've tried the reset button on the back and no luck. Is there some setting that I might have turned on so it won't change between modes? I also haven't messed with the firmware at all; all I've done is take it out of the box and charge it up and use it. I've had it now since about last November and as far as I can remember this function used to work.
Ok update if anyone reads this ... I have found that within the app "function" I can not switch between radians/degrees. I am just currious as to why im not able to do so if anyone would like to comment?
Thanks, Nick
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Here's one possible reason for what you were experiencing. Each app can have its own private radian/degree setting in the "Symbolic Setup" screen. (Shift Symb) When an app has the angle mode set here, it usually cannot be changed elsewhere. To restore your ability to set the angle mode in the usual three places (Home Settings, CAS Settings, and the battery icon popup box), press Shift Symb and change the angle setting there to "System".
-Joe-

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Hi,
I actually see 2 problems in that screenshot:
Firstly:
and:
so there is confusion between what the Prime displays and what it interprets. An old problem still not properly addressed.
Secondly:
The last answer is the maximum value for a Double Precision Floating Point. So something is going wrong and it just spits out what I assume to be MAXREAL (which I thought was the CAS limit, the HOME limit being 9.99999999999E499).
I suggest you post your bug reports on one of the following forums, which are read by HP calculator team members:
http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/Calculators/bd-p/bsc-408
http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/forum-5.html
Regards.
Note: I do not work for HP, I just like playing with calculators :-)

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Please let us know some examples of expressions that you tried, what you expected, and what happened instead. ALSO please let us know what modes your Prime is in (e.g. RPN Entry mode, or CAS view), because Prime behaves very differently depending on the Home Settings and CAS Settings. Which app is the currently active app (shown in the display's title bar) can also alter Prime's behavior. When you let us know these things, we'll be able to discern why you are getting syntax errors.
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Disclaimer: I do not work for HP. I'm just another happy HP calculator user.
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Hello,
I'm trying to solve
solve( (2)^x = (x)^2,x)
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I lost my TI Nspire CX and I though that HP Prime, since is a recent modern version, were able to solve something simple as that, I am wrong. (TI Nspire solved it ).
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This question was solved.
View Solution.

Oops! Quite right. In general, all symbolic math work should be done in the CAS; that's what it's for. Home is intended for ordinary number-crunching, not symbolic math. Sorry for not pointing that out.
-Joe-

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Hello,
I have been using the HP Prime to solve basic algebraic problems. I think this is a bug in the CAS system.
If you have set in the CAS settings "Use i" and you need to simplify the equation
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abs(x)*abs(y)*sqrt(x)
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Thank you
ragoreco

Hi,
I suggest you post your question on one of the following forums, where members of the Prime design team post too:
http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/Calculators/bd-p/bsc-408
http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/forum-5.html
Regards.
Note: I do not work for HP, I just like playing with calculators :-)

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TI 84 plus manual had a very nice keyword index that included syntax in their manual. I'd love to see something similar.
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John

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Thank you, Joe,
(1) I had discovered Catlg, but had not thought to use the HELP key to get more information. Thanks.
(2) I must have a different version of the User Guide, 527-579 in my copy. Edition 1, part number NW280-2001, copyright 2013. Thank you, though, because I had not found that section. Since I printed it, I probably won't bother printing it again. But when I'm at the computer, I could try search and find.
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Firmware version : 20150617 v8151 If I have RPN active in home view, when in CAS I press Menu->Get Home, the list of values that are shown are of the Textbook setting.The virtual calculator has the same problem. RPN Screen: CAS Screen:

Hi,
I would suggest you try:
http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/hpmuseum/forum.cgi
there is some discussion there about about starting a bug reporting forum. A feature request section would be a useful part of that too.
You can also try the comp.sys.hp48 newsgroup. The GoogleGroups link:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/comp.sys.hp48
Regards.
Note: I do not work for HP, I just like playing with calculators :-)

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Hi,
This is wonky. It's a bit hard to explain in words, so best see the attachment to understand. You can download the attachment here: https://app.sugarsync.com/iris/wf/D162135_83773729_7822834
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A

Hello
Here's a brief anatomy of 1.1 - 1.0 - 0.1 = 8.32667268468867E-17 and 1.1 - 0.1 - 1.0 = 0.0.
legend
    s = sign (0 => +, 1 => -)
    e = exponent (bias = 0x3ff = 1023)
    m = mantissa (hidden bit is explicitly represented; integer bit (1/0) in mantissa is hidden bit)
1.1 = 3ff199999999999a := {s = 0; e = 3ff; m = 1.199999999999a}
1.0 = 3ff0000000000000 := {s = 0; e = 3ff; m = 1.0000000000000}
0.1 = 3fb999999999999a := {s = 0; e = 3fb; m = 1.999999999999a}
1.1 - 1.0 = 3fb99999999999a0 := {s = 0; e = 3fb; m = 1.99999999999a0}
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    = {s = 0; e = 3ff; m = 1.199999999999a} - {s = 0; e = 3ff; m = 1.0000000000000}
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1.1 - 1.0 - 0.1 = 3c98000000000000 := {s = 0; e = 3c9; m = 1.000000000000}
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1.1 - 0.1 = 3ff0000000000000 := {s = 0; e = 3ff; m = 1.0000000000000}
    3ff199999999999a - 3fb999999999999a
    = {s = 0; e = 3ff; m = 1.199999999999a} - {s = 0; e = 3fb; m = 1.999999999999a}
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1.1 - 0.1 - 1.0 = 0000000000000000
    3ff0000000000000 - 3ff0000000000000
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    = 00000000000000
    = 0.0
[1] This is not normalised form with hidden bit = 0
[2] This is normalised form with hidden bit = 1
[3] the 2nd term is not normalised form; LSB of mantissa of the 2nd term is result of rounding.
[4] +0
Cheers,
H

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Hope this helps the arabic users. And I hope that this thing gets fixed on the next firmware release.
E71-1 (40) || RM-346 || 400.21.013

/t5/Software-Updates/Language-changed-or-missing-after-software-update-sticky/td-p/265903
And its not a good idea to post IMEI number on a public forum.
Previous Phones: 6600, 7610, 6230, 6230i, 1100, 1112, N70, N73, N95, N95 8GB, 5800XM, 5230, C5, iPhone 3GS, SE Xperia X10, N900, N8, SE Xperia Arc
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HP Prime Calculator resetting itself.

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This question was solved.
View Solution.

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14 x 3600 + 7 x 60 + 5 = 3024425 (wrong)
Now try in landscape mode.
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You can also try this:
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Normal mode
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Landscape mode
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Landscape mode use more than one variable.

HP Prime calculating bug

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