Question

Why would someone choose to use a graphing calculator to solve a system of linear equations instead of graphing by hand? Explain your reasoning.

Answer 1

A graphing calculator creates more accurate graphs than graphing by hand.

A graphing calculator might accept lines in any form.

If the slope and/or y-intercept of a line is a decimal or fraction, it could be difficult to graph the line accurately by hand.

The window or zoom in and out can be adjusted on a graphing calculator, rather than having to redraw or rescale a graph by hand.

Answer 2

Graphing calculators are more accurate and are faster when finding the solution(s). When solving a system of equations with a graphing calculator, you can have the calculator graph equations of any degree and shape. The graphing calculator also has functions to find where the graphs intersect between two points and are accurate sometimes to ten decimal places. When compared to graphing by hand you can get inaccurate results and results that are not as precise.