fractions in quizzes

[SWANSSE]

I'm building a quiz on the topic of fractions. I don't want to use multiple choice, so students have to enter the exact numeric answer. However, the builder does not have a fraction tool nor will it accept "1/4" as a number. Is there anything that can be done about this? My school requires us to use Canvas, and I'm a math teacher. 

[KristinL]

Hi @SWANSSE - Do you use Classic Quizzes or New Quizzes?

• Quizzes Overview (Instructors) - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)
• New Quizzes Overview (Instructors) - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)

[SWANSSE]

@KristinL That video does not have the solution to my problem. I want to be able to have a fraction as the answer (in the answer key) for the numeric answer format. However, it doesn't allow fractions.

[Chris_Hofer · Accepted solution]

Hello @SWANSSE ...

My guess is that @KristinL wanted to know which version of the Canvas quizzing engine you were using so that she could provide the best solution for you.  I don't think she was trying to avoid answering your question.

I do have a possible solution for you, however.  Thanks for sharing your screenshot in a separate reply.  This helps us know that you are using New Quizzes instead of Classic Quizzes.  Rather than using a "Numeric" question type, I would like you to try using a "Fill in the Blank" question type instead.  (I know it may sound weird...but just hang with me here.)  How do I create a Fill in the Blank question in New Quizzes?

I created a question similar to yours in my own sandbox course.  It looks like this:

Notice that I added an additional line in the question for "Your answer" ... which is what students would see.  Then, I put the fraction in backticks (the character just to the left of the number 1 key on your top row of numbers on your keyboard).  Then, I selected the "Text Match" option to "Exact Match".  This means that students would have to type in:

1/4

In this next screen shot, this is what it looks like once you are finished editing the question in your New Quiz:

And this is what the question would look like from a student perspective:

What do you think of this option?  Would it meet your needs?  It accomplishes exactly what you are looking for...but it's just not using the "Numeric" question type...since those do not appear to accept fractions as possible answers.

Hope this will help!  Let Community members know if you have any other questions about this...thanks!

[SWANSSE]

@Chris_Hofer This will work perfectly! Thank you so much for your help!

[andersonChris]

I have created a way to display fractions using the Formula question type but I cannot find a way for students to enter a fractional answer with that type.  It only seems to work if I have them convert to a decimal, however, this often defeats the purpose of the question.

Is there any way to accomplish this?  Any plans for allowing 2 answer boxes in a single formula question?

I added 2 pictures to demonstrate how to display fractions in a Formula question that gives random values in the fraction.

One of the pictures shows the table selected so you can see the otherwise invisible cell boarders.

[James]

@andersonChris 

Canvas does not allow us to do things the way most math people want to do things. Exact answers and two answers for a formula question are a couple of those things not supported.

It would be really nice if the stimulus question in New Quizzes allowed for the random numbers in the stimulus to be carried down to the actual questions. Then you could ask for the numerator and the denominator separately and still get both of them.

With formula questions, you could ask for the numerator or ask for the denominator, but not both at the same time. If you doubled up the questions, you could get both, but asking for just one might be sufficient.

Also, you went through a lot of trouble and created a non-accessible way to display a fraction. Screen readers aren't going to pick up that it's a fraction.

A better way is to use LaTeX with your formula question. You can wrap the LaTeX in \ ( and \ ) but without the space after the \. I had to add it here so the Community software doesn't try to show them in math mode.

Here's an example of what you could do.

What is the numerator when you simplify the following expression?

\(\displaystyle\frac{[a]}{[b]}+\frac{[c]}{[d]}\)

Of course, that's a non-trivial problem since the random number generator doesn't have an option for generating relatively prime random numbers, there's not a gcf() or lcm() function, or any of the other things you would need to correctly answer this specific problem. You might be able to get around that with careful choices for the random variables, but this was more about showing how to format the question.

For another example, consider the real roots to a quadratic equation. There are usually two of them, but you can only accept one answer at a time. You could ask for the smaller root, the larger root, or even the discriminant.

Find the smaller solution to \([a]x^2+[b]x+c=0\)?

If you're using new quizzes instead of classic quizzes, I think the same thing works, you just need to use backticks around the variable names instead of brackets. I haven't verified that recently.

[SWANSSE]

@KristinL