I have installed the new operating system on my TI84 Silver Editions. It will not convert the square root of 5 to a fraction (thank goodness) but it does convert the square root of 720 to a fraction :( This did not happen with the old operating system.

Hi,

to save time, I would suggest switching calculators and also recommend using an online scientific calculator to reach your goal. If the manual for your device is bad, you can look into getting a new calculator. Thank you.

When the radicand is completed, use the right arrow to leave the root so that you can enter the other factors or terms.

In general you cannot. If the square root happens to be an integer (ex: SQRT (4)=2) or a rational number (SQRT(16/9)=4/3) you can convert from one form to the other, but that is the same as converting from a decimal to a fraction.
However you can never convert 1.414213562 (the first 10 digits of SQRT(2)) into the radical SQRT(2). The reason is that root here is an irrational number: its decimal representation is endless and not periodic (non repeating).

If you are concerned about fraction handling and conversion to decimal representation, upgrade the OS of your calculator to 2.5x MP. As to handling of irrational numbers (such as square roots) you should visit the TIcalc.org website to look for any 3rd-party program that can do that.

Try to find a classmate who has the same calculator (TI84 Plus or TI84 Plus Silver Edition) and effect a transfer of the OS from the classmate's calculator using an IO cable.
Alternatively, download the new version of TI Connect (version 4.) and install it on your computer. Then connect your calculator to the computer through the USB cable. When it recognizes the calculator click the update button in TI Connect interface and select update OS. Good luck.

I answered a similar question not long ago and here is what I wrote:

Not quite true for OS 2.56 MP for the TINspire with Ti84 keyboard. To convert a complex decimal value, that you just calculated, into a fraction use the command Math [1:>Frac] and it will convert the value to complex fractions
See below.


I suggest you upgrade the OS to version 2.55 MP.

Not quite true for OS 2.56 MP for the TINspire with Ti84 keyboard. To convert a complex decimal value, that you just calculated, into a fraction use the command Math [1:>Frac] and it will convert the value to complex fractions
See below.

This is the equation of a circle centered on (0,0) and with radius r=3. You can draw it as a conic section.For that you will need the conics application. Look for it on education.ti.com
You can also draw it as two branches: y1=+ square root (9-x^2) and y2=-square root(9-x^2). The two parts may not overlap at the points on the the x-axis, but if you are willing to accept the calculator limitations you will have your graph.

I am sorry, my friend, but you are asking the impossible. The reason is that the exact value of cos(30 deg) is equal to square root (3) /2 which cannot be fraction (the square root of 3 is an irrational number).
However, it may be possible for your calculator to give you a result with a radical (3)/ 2 but that is no fraction. (A fraction must have both numerator and denominator as integers).

To get a radical result set the IO mode to MathIO.
Press [SHIFT] [MODE] to open (SETUP) and select [1:MathIO]

Two ways:

2ND [square-root] ( 8 7 . 3 4 / 5 ) ENTER

8 7 . 3 4 / 5 ENTER then 2ND [square-root] 2ND ANS ENTER

The first sequence takes the square root of 87.34/5, the second sequence calculates 87.34/5 then takes the square root of the result.