Math visualization is vital for students to transform abstract math concepts and to explore math topics. Traditionally math teachers have been using hand-held graphing calculators to help with this type of activities. However, powerful mobile device apps seems to make everything possible. Here we will review several iphone/ipad/android apps that can perform functions that traditional graphing calculators, such as TI-nspire can do, or getting close to them:

       Free Graphing Calculator

Typing the keywords of “graphing calculator” in the iPad app store, you will see the first result is Free Graphing Calculator by William Jockusch (as of July 24, 2013):

This app provides a very similar function to some of current hand-held graphing calculators, as shown below. You can tell that this app can do: general calculation, geometry graphing, tables and several shape solvers. It also have in-app references on a number of mathematics topics, such as Algebra, Calculus, Fractions, etc.

Quick Graph

Another free iPad/iPhone app is “Quick Graph“. It provides similar functions although no in-app curriculum related contents.

However, it does have one extra function of 3-D graphing. It is also very easy to save all 2-D, 3-D graphing into jpeg format images for future references.