# Desperately need help with stupid TI-83 plus calculator question!!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperately-need-help-with-stupid-ti-83-plus-calculator-question/525727 "2010-01-20T18:53:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperately-need-help-with-stupid-ti-83-plus-calculator-question/525727/1 "2010-01-20T18:53:45Z")
So my new Texas Instruments TI-83 Plus Graphing calculator came from Amazon today for my prob/stats class (required for the class, btw), and I am stuck at the starting gate because I _can’t figure out how to get the batteries in._ I have scoured the instruction manuals, both hard copy and on CD, and apparently this question is too monumentally dumb for anyone to have considered answering it. But it doesn’t make any sense!!! The four AAA batteries are included, but how is anybody supposed to get them IN the CALCULATOR??? Nothing seems to be pry-able or slide-able or click-able or screw-off-a-able from the back, and I’m afraid I’m going to break something if I pull at it too hard. What is supposed to be so obvious about the solution to this?? Does anyone own this calculator? Does anyone know? (weeps bitter tears over the stupendous evil of math) Anyway, please, PLEASE, does anyone have any answers? And yes… if all else fails, I’ll ask the professor or someone in the class… but I am so hoping to avoid looking so stupid this early in the process… ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperately-need-help-with-stupid-ti-83-plus-calculator-question/525727/2 "2010-01-20T19:01:28Z")
maybe [the manual](http://education.ti.com/educationportal/downloadcenter/SoftwareDetail.do?website=US&appId=6124&tabId=2http://education.ti.com/educationportal/downloadcenter/SoftwareDetail.do?website=US&appId=6124&tabId=2) will help? ---
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperately-need-help-with-stupid-ti-83-plus-calculator-question/525727/3 "2010-01-20T19:08:54Z")
No. I have read through all versions of the entire manual-- the booklet that came with the calculator, the one on the CD that came with the calculator, and the ones online (and also any random pages I could find) and I think the engineers who wrote it assumed that the question about how to put the batteries in was just too dumb to need answering. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperately-need-help-with-stupid-ti-83-plus-calculator-question/525727/4 "2010-01-20T19:12:27Z")
You’re supposed to put batteries in it? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperately-need-help-with-stupid-ti-83-plus-calculator-question/525727/5 "2010-01-20T19:18:22Z")
OK, here’s a photo guide from [takeitapart.com](http://takeitapart.com): [http://www.takeitapart.net/archives/ti-83-and-86/](http://www.takeitapart.net/archives/ti-83-and-86/) But I’m still amazed at the idea of buying a calculator that needs batteries. ---
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperately-need-help-with-stupid-ti-83-plus-calculator-question/525727/6 "2010-01-20T19:21:49Z")
Wow! Thanks, Nametag! 🙂 What I did, though… before checking back on this thread… was to swallow my pride (gulp) and call the TI customer support line. I highly recommend it. I didn’t have to wait in the interminable Sheol/limbo “on hold” void, and the rep was very nice. It turned out that the back cover was stuck. The entire brouhaha can be chalked up to yet another case of math anxiety. (Which is understandable, because math was invented by SATAN!) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperately-need-help-with-stupid-ti-83-plus-calculator-question/525727/7 "2010-01-20T21:12:49Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > OK, here’s a photo guide from [takeitapart.com](http://takeitapart.com): [http://www.takeitapart.net/archives/ti-83-and-86/](http://www.takeitapart.net/archives/ti-83-and-86/) > > But I’m still amazed at the idea of buying a calculator that needs batteries. I know of few graphing calculators that don’t. Wouldn’t they have to be rechargeable, otherwise? I’ve never seen a rechargeable calculator. But, then again, I haven’t seen a graphing calculator since 2003. But the TI-83plus existed back then, too, along with the TI-89s and TI-92s. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperately-need-help-with-stupid-ti-83-plus-calculator-question/525727/8 "2010-01-20T21:28:37Z")
Solar. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperately-need-help-with-stupid-ti-83-plus-calculator-question/525727/9 "2010-01-20T23:45:22Z")
> [@Anise](#): > > (Which is understandable, because math was invented by SATAN!) [Satan](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php)? Really? Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperately-need-help-with-stupid-ti-83-plus-calculator-question/525727/10 "2010-01-21T20:32:59Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > OK, here’s a photo guide from [takeitapart.com](http://takeitapart.com): [http://www.takeitapart.net/archives/ti-83-and-86/](http://www.takeitapart.net/archives/ti-83-and-86/) > > But I’m still amazed at the idea of buying a calculator that needs batteries. Virtually every graphing calculator requires batteries. It’s like a mini-computer, it’s not some run-of-the-mill cheap four-function computer. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperately-need-help-with-stupid-ti-83-plus-calculator-question/525727/11 "2010-01-21T21:55:41Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > [Satan](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php)? Really? Who knew? Maybe it was [this one](http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/666) (And who at yahoo managed to tweak things so he had that page number, I wonder?)