I'm in 10th grade chemistry and my teacher says we need to know how to use a basic scientific calculator instead of just relying on our phones. I have an old Casio fx-991EX from like 2015 that still works fine, but I'm wondering if I'm behind the times. Do most schools still require this or have they completely moved to digital tools by now?
Your teacher's got a point - it's not about being behind, it's about understanding what you're doing instead of just punching numbers into a black box. That Casio will serve you fine; plenty of schools still require actual calculators for exams and labs precisely because they want to see your work and keep you thinking, not relying on apps that might not be allowed during tests.
That Casio is honestly solid for what you need. The real thing your teacher's after is making sure you can actually *see* what's happening with the math - like knowing why you're hitting log or exponent buttons instead of just swiping through an app that does it for you. Schools still want that foundation because once you hit higher-level chemistry or physics, you'll run into situations where a calculator app won't cut it or won't show you your steps clearly. Your 2015 model does everything you need for 10th grade, so no need to worry about being outdated.
Don't assume your phone calculator is a substitute just because it's faster - you'll miss catching your own errors when you can't see the calculation steps laid out. Your fx-991EX is genuinely solid, and most chemistry classes still expect you to know one; here's a trick: memorize where the second function keys are so you don't waste time hunting during tests, and practice converting between decimal and fraction displays on your model before exams because that switches how you read answers in stoichiometry problems.
I'd keep that Casio - it's genuinely useful for chemistry and beyond. The thing your teacher is really driving at is that when you rely on your phone, you're not building the mental muscle to catch mistakes or understand what each step is doing. With a physical calculator in front of you, you're forced to think through the sequence: do I need log or ln here? Am I supposed to be taking the reciprocal? That's the actual learning, not just getting the answer.
Most schools still require or at least strongly encourage scientific calculators, especially in chemistry and physics. Some have shifted to graphing calculators or computer tools for certain units, but the basic scientific calculator is far from obsolete. Your fx-991EX does everything you'll need - it's got the standard functions, it's reliable, and honestly it's better than relying on whatever calculator app you find online because those vary wildly in quality and features.
The one thing I'd push back on from the earlier takes is the idea that your phone calculator is somehow just "slower." Speed isn't really the issue - it's that phone apps don't teach you the same way. When you use an actual device designed for calculations, the layout and button layout become muscle memory, and you're way less likely to zone out and just trust whatever result pops up. Keep using what you've got.
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