# Math Formula Essay

## Description

The Math Formula Essay question type allows students to input text and math formula within the same response, usually when a response needs further explanation. This question is teacher scored.

Figure 1 - Math Formula Essay question example.

## Create a Question

Enter a question stem in the Compose Question area. Then select formatting tools you want to make available for the students. Go to Text formatting options and select tools from the drop down menus. You can add more buttons by clicking on the +Add button. To remove a button click on the trash can icon beside it. The students will be able to select tools from the panel below the line when entering text.

Figure 2 - Selecting formatting tools.

You can then add special symbols the student may need to complete the task. In the Symbols section you can select a keyboard group from the drop down menus or add more by clicking on +Add, once for each new keyboard group. The student will be able to navigate between keyboards by clicking on the keyboard labels on the top right of the keyboard. See our tutorial on how to add various symbol groups available in Learnosity and create custom symbols.

Authors can also limit the number of lines of math or text that can be entered by the students. For this go to the Maximum lines field and add a number of lines.

The Default mode option determines which keyboard, text or math, will be enabled by default in the text entry area when the student sees the question.

### More Options

Additional formatting options can be found under More Options:

Template font scale will scale the font relative to the question's font size. The default value is 150%.

The Show keypad hints will enable/disable hints, such as keyboard shortcuts and symbol group titles that are shown on the keyboard top left corner when hovering over a symbol group key.

The Text blocks section is where you can define a list of custom units (such as g, kg, cm, oz etc.) that will not be rendered as LaTeX.

Example 1 - Standard Math Formula Essay question.

{
"is_math": true,
"stimulus": "<p><strong>Solve the equation for <em>i<\/em> if <em>i = prt <\/em>and show the steps involved<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>\$$p = 2000, r = 8\\%, t = 4\$$<\/p>\n",
"type": "formulaessay",
"ui_style": {
"default_mode": "math",
"keyboard_below_response_area": true
}
}

Example 2 - Math Formula Essay question with max lines set to 4.

{
"is_math": true,
"stimulus": "<p>For two points&nbsp;\$$\\left(5,2\\right)\$$&nbsp;and&nbsp;\$$\\left(-12,4\\right)\$$, find the equation of the line passing between the two points, using the formulas&nbsp;below.&nbsp;Explain your workings.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-6\">\n<table class=\"table table-bordered table-striped\">\n\t<thead>\n\t\t<tr>\n\t\t\t<th scope=\"row\">Formula Name<\/th>\n\t\t\t<th scope=\"col\">Formula<\/th>\n\t\t<\/tr>\n\t<\/thead>\n\t<tbody>\n\t\t<tr>\n\t\t\t<th scope=\"row\">Slope of a Line<\/th>\n\t\t\t<td>\$$m=\\frac{y_1-y_2}{x_1-x_2}\$$<\/td>\n\t\t<\/tr>\n\t\t<tr>\n\t\t\t<th scope=\"row\">Equation of a Line<\/th>\n\t\t\t<td>\$$y-y_1=m\\left(x-x_1\\right)\$$<\/td>\n\t\t<\/tr>\n\t<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n",
"symbols": [
"basic",
"qwerty",
"algebra"
],
"type": "formulaessay",
"ui_style": {
"default_mode": "math",
"max_lines": 4,
"response_font_scale": "normal",
"keyboard_below_response_area": true
}
}

Example 3 - Math Formula Essay question with customised formatting options in text.

{
"is_math": true,
"stimulus": "<p>Calculate the slope of the below line,&nbsp;and show your workings using the following formula:\$$m=\\frac{y_2-y_1}{x_2-x_1}\$$<\/p>\n\n<p>\$$y=4x+2\$$<\/p>\n",
"symbols": [
"basic"
],
"type": "formulaessay",
"ui_style": {
"default_mode": "math",
"text_formatting_options": [
"bold",
"italic",
"unorderedList",
"orderedList"
],
"keyboard_below_response_area": true
}
}

Example 4 - Math Formula Essay with Text as default text.

{
"is_math": true,
"stimulus": "<p>A bathtub in the shape of a rectangular prism has length <strong>150 cm<\/strong>, width <strong>80 cm<\/strong>, and height <strong>50 cm<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<p>The tub is half-filled.<\/p>\n\n<p>How many liters of water are in the tub? Show your work.<\/p>\n",
"symbols": [
"basic",
"qwerty",
"algebra",
"trigonometry"
],
"type": "formulaessay",
"ui_style": {
"max_lines": 10,
"default_mode": "math",
"text_formatting_options": [
"bold",
"italic",
"removeFormat"
],
"keyboard_below_response_area": true
}
}