TI BA II PLUS Calculator Basics

• Clearing registers/memory
  You can clear the time value of money worksheet by keying [2nd] [FV]. 
  
• Accessing alternate functions
  Many of the keys on the calculator perform more than one function. 
  The primary function of a key is indicated by the symbol on the face of the key. The secondary function is marked above the key in yellow. To access the secondary yellow function, press [2nd] before pressing the key. 
  
  Example: press [2nd] [FV] to access the CLR TVM function and clear the TVM worksheet.

• Changing the payments per year (P/Y) setting to Annual
  In many business and capital investment situations, and in all of the problems and examples in this course, payments are made and interest is compounded annually (1 time per year). However, by default, the TI BA II PLUS bases its calculations on monthly payments and interest compounding (12 times per year). Using your TI calculator with this default setting will produce incorrect answers for the problems in this course. 
  
  If your calculator produces incorrect results, check its payments per year setting by pressing [2nd] [P/Y]. If your calculator displays 12 (the default) or any other number greater than 1, you need to change the P/Y setting to 1.
  
  To change your calculator's settings to compute annual payments and compounding, press the following keys, one at a time:

  [2nd] [P/Y] 1 [ENTER]
  now press the down arrow key (in the top row), followed by 
  1 [ENTER] [2nd] [QUIT]

  Your calculator will now assume annual payments and compounding in its computations.

• Restoring the payments per year (P/Y) setting to Monthly
  Most of the investment and debt instruments you will encounter in personal finance settings are based on monthly payments and monthly compounding of interest. To restore your calculator to these default settings (monthly payments and compounding), press the following keys, one at a time:

  [2nd] [P/Y] [2nd] [CLR Work]

  Your calculator will now assume monthly payments and compounding in its computations.

• Changing the display
  This calculator internally stores numeric values to an accuracy of 13 digits. The default display setting is two decimal places. To change the number of decimal places displayed, press [2nd] [Format]. DEC is displayed, along with the number indicating the current decimal-place setting. Enter the number of decimal places desired (0-9) and press [ENTER]. To specify a floating decimal format, enter a value of 9. Four should be the minimum number of decimal places for most financial work.
  To return to the standard calculator mode, press [2nd] [QUIT].
  

• Changing sign
  To change the sign of the displayed value, press the [+/-] key.
  

• Storing and recalling numbers in memory
  The calculator has ten memories available. These memories can handle any numeric value within the range of the calculator. The memories are numbered 0 through 9. To clear all memories, enter [2nd] [MEM] [2nd] [CLR Work] to clear the memory worksheet.
  To store a displayed value in memory, press [STO] and a digit key 0-9. 
  
  Example: Store 14.50 in memory 2. The key sequence is 14.50 [STO] [2]
  
  When you turn the calculator off, the value is retained in memory.
  To recall a number stored in memory, press [RCL] and a digit key 0 through 9. 
  
  Example: Recall a value stored in memory 7. The key sequence is [RCL] [7]
  
  To do arithmetic with values stored in memory, use the [STO] key.
  
  Example: Add the value in the display to the value in memory 5. The key sequence is [STO] [+] [5]