Maths, physics and chemistry answers with a formula keyboard

Why a keyboard

On a phone or Chromebook, symbols like a square root, a subscript or a reaction arrow are hard to find, and students end up writing them as plain text such as x^2 or H2O. The formula keyboard puts them one tap away and shows the result set correctly, so what the student sees is what the teacher and the projector see.

What is on the three tabs

• Maths: fractions, powers, roots, subscripts, pi, plus or minus, inequality signs, sums, integrals and infinity.
• Greek: alpha, beta, gamma, delta, theta, lambda, mu, nu, rho, sigma, tau, phi, omega, capital delta and omega for change and ohms.
• Science: chemical formulas such as H2O and H2SO4, reaction and reversible arrows, positive and negative charges, degrees and degrees Celsius, angstrom, standard form, units and vectors.
• A number pad, the basic operations, arrow keys to move within the answer, backspace and clear.

Ideas by subject

• Maths: "Simplify the fraction", "Solve for x", "Write the area of a circle of radius r".
• Physics: "Write the formula for kinetic energy", "Calculate the resistance, with units".
• Chemistry: "Write the balanced equation for hydrogen burning in oxygen", "Write the formula of copper sulfate".

Setting the question

1. In the editor press Add and choose Maths answer.
2. Write the question. Use the Maths button in the question box to put a formula inside the question itself.
3. Enter every answer you accept. For example, list both 1/2 and 0.5 if you want to allow both.
4. Add points and an explanation. Students who miss it see the explanation and the accepted answer.

How answers are marked

Numeric answers are compared by value, so one half, 0.5 and a typed fraction all count as the same answer. Formulas and equations are compared as written after spacing is tidied, so list the forms you accept.

• Students can add working on extra lines, up to eight.
• Only the last line is marked. The teacher can read the working above it.
• Every step is shown typeset, so handwriting is never a problem.

For every grade

The same question type serves primary arithmetic, middle school algebra and senior physics and chemistry. Younger students use the number pad and fraction key. Older students open the Greek and Science tabs. For working that is easier to draw, such as long division or a circuit diagram, use a whiteboard question instead.