Author a mathematical formula question

Mathematical formula questions allow instructors to compare a student response (generally a mathematical expression) to a specified answer and (in most cases) accept response equivalence.

There are ten sub-types of mathematical formula questions that accept specific types of responses.

TIP: Check out Choose a mathematical formula question sub-type for more information about each sub-type option.

TIP: Algorithmic variables can be applied to any mathematical formula question sub-type. Check out Author an algorithmic question.

TIP: All questions are authored using the Question Editor. Check out Author a question to learn how to access the Question Editor.

To author a mathematical formula question

To author a mathematical formula question from the Question Editor:

1. Enter a question statement in the Question Text pane of the Question Editor.

1. Click Möbius component to select the type of student response for this part of the question.

NOTE: A question can have multiple parts, with each question part using a different type of component. Example — A question could contain two components; the first part using a document upload student response, and the second part a multiple choice student response component.

1. Click Mathematical Formula from the list of student response components.

1. Assign a weight to the response. The default weighting is 1.

TIP: The weight of the component can be any integer greater than 0, and is calculated proportionate to the total of all weights across the question. Example — A question with two components could have the first weighted as 2, and the second weighted as 4. This means that the second component will be worth twice as much as the first when calculating the total grade for the question.

1. Select the sub-type of mathematical formula question that you want to author from the Sub-type drop-down list.

TIP: Check out Choose a mathematical formula question sub-type for more information about each sub-type option.

1. Define the correct answer using symbolic math in the Answer field.

NOTE: The answer must use the correct syntax for the selected sub-type. Example — sin can't be included in the correct answer if you're authoring a formula without logs and trig question sub-type.

1. Click Insert to add this student response component to the question.

1. The component is inserted into your question.

1. Click Preview to trial your new question to ensure that it behaves as expected.

TIP: You first have to click the save iconif you're creating this question from within an Activity Editor. After the question has been saved, you can then click the preview iconto ensure that your new question behaves as expected.

1. Click Save to save your new question. Your new question is now stored in the Questions pane of the Content Repository.

TIP: Click the save iconif you're creating this question from within an Activity Editor. This saves your question to the activity and the Content Repository.

Grading details for mathematical formula questions

Student responses are compared to the defined correct answer and must contain a mathematical expression including numbers or mathematical formulas.

In general, the ten mathematical formula question sub-types accept equivalent responses.

Here are some special notes for equivalent responses and specific sub-types:

• The formula without logs and trig sub-type won't accept logarithmic and trigonometric functions as equivalent responses.
• The formula with physical units sub-type will accept unit equivalents as long as the units are recognized by Möbius.
• The formula that matches responses to within +C sub-type accepts two answers as equivalent if they differ by a constant number.
• The formula without simplification sub-type will only accept unsimplified responses as equivalent responses.
• The equation sub-type will accept any equation that's algebraically equivalent to the correct answer.
• The chemical formula sub-type doesn't accept equivalent responses and requires the student response to be an exact match to the defined correct answer.