Create Math Questions with Formulas
About Math Questions
Formula question types are most commonly used in math and science courses. They allow you to use "curly braces" to ensure each student receives a unique question. Also, you can deduct points when a student answers with an incorrect number of decimal points, a unit of measurement, or scientific notation.
Note
To create complex formulas, you can use D2L's built-in Graphical Equation editor when building your question.
Create Arithmetic Questions
These questions include formulas. You can specify the number of decimal points and units required and set a level of "tolerance" for what counts as an acceptable answer.
Note
If you want students to show their calculations and/or explain their work, we recommend using Written Response (WR) question types.
Step 1
Select Quizzes from the course navbar.
Step 2
Click on the Question Library tab.
Step 3
Click on the name of any Section folder to open it.
Step 4
Click the New button.
Step 5
Select Arithmetic Question (2+2) from the menu.
Step 6
Enter the number of points this question will be worth in the Points field.
Step 7
Enter the problem into the Question Text field. Enclose all variables with curly braces { } if you want to generate random numbers.
Note
The Graphical Equation editor can be especially helpful if the question contains a complicated formula. If you are working on a device with a small screen, you may have to click the ellipses for the Graphical Equation menu to appear.
Step 8
If this question has an image, click the Insert Image button to upload it from your computer. Use the Alternative Text field to provide information about the image.
Step 9
Check Allow attachments to support answers if you want students to upload images, documents, spreadsheets, and other files showing their work.
Step 10
Enter the solution's formula in the Formula field, setting variables inside curly braces.
Step 11
Use the Answer Precision field to define the number of decimal places the answer may contain; check Enforce Precision if you want to require this number of decimal places in the correct answer.
Note
If you enforce precision, we suggest specifying the number of decimal places a correct answer should contain in your question or in the quiz instructions.
Step 12
To accept near-accurate, estimated, and/or rounded answers, enter a Tolerance level:
- Units allow you to specify how far numerically an answer can deviate and still be considered correct (e.g., setting a tolerance of .5 units on a correct answer of 100 will instruct D2L to accept any answer between 99.5-100.5).
- Percent allows you to use a percentage to determine how far off an answer can be (e.g., setting a tolerance of 1 on a correct answer of 50 will instruct D2L to accept any answer between 59.4-50.6).
Step 13
Use this option if the correct answer should include a unit of measurement (mm, cm, grams, inches, etc.):
- Enter the unit of measurement in the Units field.
- If you want to deduct points for incorrect units, use the Worth field to tell D2L what percentage of the question's points to assign to the unit.
- If case matters, select Case Sensitive under Evaluation Options.
Note
The student response must be an exact match to the units you enter unless you select the Regular Expression option and use Regular Expressions in the Units field. For an introduction to Regular Expressions, watch this D2L video (opens in new tab).
Step 14
Add or remove Variables, as needed, to match the number of variables in the formula.
- Add a variable by clicking the Add Variable link.
- Remove a variable by clicking the Remove Entry (trashcan) icon.
Step 15
Assign values to your variables using the following fields:
- Name: The name should exactly match the corresponding variable in your formula.
- Min/Max: Assign a range from which D2L can randomly assign a value to that variable. If you do not want D2L to randomly assign a value, set the same number in both the Min and Max fields.
- Decimal Places: Use this field if you want to specify a number of decimal places for the variable.
- Step: This field instructs D2L to use intervals when drawing random numbers (e.g., if you set Min at 10 and Max at 100 and a Step of 5, D2L will randomly pull a number between 10-100 using intervals of 5).
Step 16
Click the Preview button to see how the question will look to students.
Step 17
Click the Save button to save your question, or Save and Close to save and return to the Question Library.
Create Significant Figures Questions
These questions include formulas that use significant figures. It is possible to deduct points when a student uses the incorrect number of significant figures in an answer.
Step 1
Select Quizzes from the course navbar.
Step 2
Click on the Question Library tab.
Step 3
Click on the name of any Section folder to open it.
Step 4
Click the New button.
Step 5
Select Significant Figures (x10) from the menu.
Step 6
Enter the number of Points this question will be worth.
Step 7
Enter the problem into the Question Text field. Enclose all variables with curly braces { } if you want to generate random numbers.
Note
The Graphical Equation editor can be especially helpful if the question contains a complicated formula. If you are working on a device with a small screen, you may have to click the ellipses for the Graphical Equation menu to appear.
Step 8
If this question has an image, click the Insert Image button to upload it from your computer. Use the Alternative Text field to provide information about the image.
Step 9
Check Allow attachments to support answers if you want students to upload images, documents, spreadsheets, and other files showing their work.
Step 10
Enter the solution's formula in the Formula field, setting variables inside curly braces.
Step 11
Use the Significant Figures dropdown menu to define the number of significant figures the correct answer should contain.
Step 12
If you want to give partial credit to a student who provides the correct answer but uses the incorrect number of significant figures, use the Worth drop-down menu to tell D2L what percentage of the question's points to deduct.
Note
If you require a specific number of significant figures in the answer, we suggest explaining that in your question or in the quiz instructions.
Step 13
To accept near-accurate, estimated, and/or rounded answers, enter a Tolerance level:
- The default is to allow an answer that is + or - 0.5 from the least significant figure.
- Units allow you to specify how far numerically an answer can deviate and still be considered correct.
- Percent allows you to use a percentage to determine how far off an answer can be.
Step 14
Use this option if the correct answer should include a unit of measurement (mm, cm, grams, inches, etc.):
- Enter the unit of measurement in the Units field.
- If you want to deduct points for incorrect units, use the Worth field to tell D2L what percentage of the question's points to assign to the unit.
- If case matters, select Case Sensitive under Evaluation Options.
Note
The student response must be an exact match to the units you enter unless you select the Regular Expression option and use Regular Expressions in the Units field.
Step 15
Add or remove Variables, as needed, to match the number of variables in the formula.
- Add a variable by clicking the Add Variable link.
- Remove a variable by clicking the trashcan icon.
Step 16
Assign values to your variables using the following fields:
- Name: The name should exactly match the corresponding variable in your formula.
- Min/Max: Assign a range from which D2L can randomly assign a value to that variable. If you do not want D2L to randomly assign a value, then set the same number in both the Min and Max fields.
- Step: This field instructs D2L at which intervals it should generate the coefficient and power.
Step 17
Click the Preview button to see how the question will look to students.
Step 18
Click the Save button to save your question, or Save and Close to save and return to the Question Library.