Ti-84 calculator batteries die without calculator being on why?

Answer 1

The calculator continually consumes a small amount of power to store data in temporary RAM memory. That is why it is recommended that you archive all of the programs and data on your calculator before you change the batteries; if you do not, there is a chance you will lose the data saved in the temporary RAM memory when you remove them. When your batteries get low, the power in the spare button battery will start to be consumed (it acts as the battery backup so you do not lose data right away when the main batteries die).

On a side note, if you are interested, head over to www.calc-tech.com to download software for your TI graphing calculator to help you improve your score on the math section of the SAT I reasoning test. SAT_OS is a software package that can be used during the actual SAT test and is known to improve scores by over 60 points just by using the software. It allows the users to complete calculations faster and more accurately than otherwise would be possible by hand.