Question Library: Arithmetic Questions
Arithmetic questions allow you to write questions containing equations and variables. By using variables and setting ranges for the values, you can set up equations or word problems in which the value of the variables is randomly chosen so each student receives a variation on the problem.
Note: A related question type is significant figures, which use of equations that require significant figures in the solution. See
Significant Figures Questions for details.
Example 1:
Which is set up as:
Example 2:
Which is set up as:
To set up Arithmetic questions:
1. Access Quizzes or Surveys and click 
Question Library.
2. Choose Arithmetic Question from the Create New drop-down menu, then click Go.
3. Enter a Title to easily distinguish one question from another when building new quizzes, re-using questions, and/or grading. (Titles will not appear in the final quiz.)
4. Enter the Question Text in the box provided. To include variables, type the variable surrounded with curly braces. (Example: ({x}+{y})/4).
5. If desired, select Add a File to associate an image with the question. You can either use an image already loaded in your course or upload a new image from your computer.
6. Type the formula used to calculate the correct answer in the Formula field. Make sure that you enclose all variables in curly braces. Click Test to open a new page displaying an example of your formula.
7. In the Variables section, define the variables you used in the Question Text.
- Type the name of your variable (for example, x) in the Name column. (Do not include curly braces with the name.)
- Enter a range for the variable by typing the minimum value for the variable in the Min column and the maximum value in the Max column.
- Set the number of decimal places for each variable in the Decimal Places drop-down menu.
- In the Step field, type the increment that the system should use when choosing random numbers from the range you specified in the Min and Max fields. (Examples: set the step to 1 to limit the variables to whole numbers.)
Example: If you create variable X with Min=100, Max=200 and Step=5, the system will only choose values for X that are increments of 5 above 100 (105, 110, 115, etc., up to 200) when generating questions.
If you have more variables than the number of spaces provided, click 
Add Variables to add more variables. If you have fewer, click the trash can icon to Remove empty answer boxes.
8. Select a number from the Answer Precision drop-down menu to define the number of decimal places student answers must be accurate to. (Example: if you choose '2', and the answer to the problem was 14.9625, students would have to put 14.96, not 15.0 or 14.963).
9. Set a Tolerance value and choose either Units or Percent to define how accurate students must be when answering the question. For example, a tolerance of 3% would allow students to be off by 3%, or a tolerance of 5 units would allow students to be off by 5 units in their answers (units are defined in the field below).
10. If needed, type the unit of measurement in which the answer should be given in the Units field (Example: MPH, meters, inches, etc.).
- Check the case sensitive box if the unit is case sensitive.
- If you wish to assign points for using the correct unit, choose a percentage value from the Worth drop-down menu.
11. If desired, add hints or feedback to a question by expanding the collapsible menus at the bottom of the page and entering text.
You must enable Hints when setting up quiz properties in order for hints to appear to students. If hints are enabled, students can click a link to receive them. (See Setting Up Quiz Properties to enable hints for a quiz.)
12.
Click Preview to view your question as it will appear during use and grading. Click Save to save the question and return to the main page, Save and Copy to save the question and create a new question of the same type and that retains the copied properties, or click Save and New to continue creating questions of the same type.
