Instructor: Create Formulas

Formula question types are most commonly used in math and science courses.

They allow you to use "curly braces" to ensure that each student receives a unique question. Also, you can deduct points when a student answers with the incorrect number of decimal points, 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.

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.

1. Select Quizzes from the course navbar.
2. Click on the Question Library tab.
3. Click on the name of any Section folder to open it.
4. Click the New button.
5. Select Arithmetic Question (2+2) from the menu.
6. Enter the number of Points this question will be worth.
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.

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.
9. Check Allow attachments to support answers if you want students to upload images, documents, spreadsheets and other files showing their work.
10. Enter the solution's formula, setting variables inside curly braces.

     

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.

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 (Ex. 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 (Ex. Setting a tolerance of 1 on a correct answer of 50 will instruct D2L to accept any answer between 59.4-50.6).

       

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.

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 trashcan icon.

       

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, then 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 (Ex. 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).

       

16. Click the Preview button to see how the question will look to students.

     

17. Click the Save button to save your question, or Save and Close to save and return to the Question Library.

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.

1. Select Quizzes from the course navbar.
2. Click on the Question Library tab.
3. Click on the name of any Section folder to open it.
4. Click the New button.
5. Select Significant Figures (x10) from the menu.
6. Enter the number of Points this question will be worth.
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.

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.
9.  Check Allow attachments to support answers if you want students to upload images, documents, spreadsheets, and other files showing their work.
10. Enter the solution's formula, setting variables inside curly braces.
11. Use the Significant Figures drop-down menu to define the number of significant figures the correct answer should contain.

     

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.

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.
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.

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.

       

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.

       

17. Click the Preview button to see how the question will look to students.

     

18. Click the Save button to save your question, or Save and Close to save and return to the Question Library.