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Settings section
Reading time: 7minBesides the Answer type section, in the same sidebar, you can find the Settings section. It's divided into the Input options section and the Validation options section. 
Input options
In the Input options screen, it's possible to filter the shown options from the beginning, based on an analysis of the correct answer. Thus, only the most relevant options will appear, clearing the window of all the possibilities that the tool offers that may not be of interest. 
However, you can always select the Show all options box if you want to take a look at all the entry possibilities. From here, if they are all displayed, the window is divided into three sections.
Compound answer
In Short answer questions, you can ask for more than one answer to a single question. You can choose to grade the whole question as incorrect if any of the answers are not accurate or give each answer a weight in the grade. For more details, see this page: Compound answer. 
Answer input method
The Answer input method section is divided into three. The first one is named Answer input field. 
Here, you can choose the answer field for the student from the following options:
Math editor embedded: Select this for the student to use an embedded editor (default).
Math editor in a popup: Select this for the student to use a small input box with a button to insert formulas with our editor.
Plain text: Select this for the student to use a small input box with no formula editor.
One of the above three is always selected. Below, you can find the second subsection named Auxiliary input. 
Here, you can choose what kind of additional entry you want to offer to the students. There are also three options:
Display auxiliary CalcMe: You can supply your students with our online calculator while answering the question and set initial content for the calculator if desired. Keep in mind that the calculator can do a lot more than numerical computations!
Display auxiliary text field: You can provide your students with a text editor to make them include the reasoning they have followed to answer the question. For more details, see this page: Auxiliary input.
Don't show auxiliary input: Don't show the auxiliary CalcMe calculator nor the additional text editor in the input field for the student's answer.
One of the above three is always selected. Below, you can find the final subsection named Initial content. 
Here you can decide whether you want to lock the initial content or not. If this setting is enabled, the student will only be able to fill in the boxes of the initial content.
Caution
For the moment, it's not possible to use this feature with matrices nor the handwriting mode due to MathType limitations. We'll work to enable it as soon as possible.
Input syntax
Finally, you can find the Input syntax section, where you select what kind of input is expected from the student and how the correct answer is validated against the student answer. The primary function of many of the options is to decide how syntax checking works on the student side. For example, [0,1) is usually highlighted as the incorrect syntax unless we choose the Intervals option. The section is divided into several parts, explained below.
Firstly, you can choose which symbols are recognized as mathematical constants instead of variables (e.g., if i is enabled, then i2 will be understood as –1). You can also define more constants at the Define random variables and functions pannel. 
Secondly, you can choose which function names are recognized by their usual meaning (e.g., if exp/log is enabled, then "ln(2)" will be understood and calculated as 0.6931...). 
Then, you can choose which units are recognized. Notice that any of them is selected by default; you will have to enable manually those units in which you are interested. 
In addition, you can also choose which unit prefixes are recognized. Again, you have to enable it manually, as they are all unselected by default. 
Afterwards, you can define which of the following constructions are allowed as correct answers. 
You can see a detailed description of each construction in the table below.
| Option | Description | Default |
| Mixed fractions | Allow mixed fractions to be recognized. Without this option, a number next to a fraction is understood to be multiplying it. |
Unselected |
| Lists | Allow lists as answers. Otherwise, they are interpreted as parentheses. Options for list separators are shown below. |
Selected |
| Lists without enclosers | Allows lists not enclosed in curly brackets to be recognized as a list (e.g., if not selected, "4,7,88,9" would not be understood as a list: it would be highlighted as syntactically incorrect). | Unselected |
| Intervals | Recognizes interval notation as valid syntax. Expressions like [0,1] are already useful without this, but now we may have, for instance, ]0,1] or (0,1]. More details here. | Unselected |
| Ratios | Allows formulas like 2:3:5 to be interpreted as ratios. Otherwise, they are successive regular divisions. |
Unselected |
| Computer scientific notation | Allows formulas like 1.5e-5 or 1.5E-5 to be interpreted as decimal numbers in scientific notation. |
Unselected |
Tip
See a detailed explanation of lists and sets here. See a detailed explanation of percentages and per mille use here.
Finally, you can decide which symbols act as separators by choosing the meaning of point, comma, and space symbols. Additionally, you can use apostrophes ' for decimal marks. You only have to check that º'" are unselected as units of measure. 
Validation options
As you have seen in the input options section, it is possible to filter the shown options from the beginning, based on an analysis of the correct answer. Thus, only the most relevant options will appear, clearing the window of all the possibilities that the tool offers that may not be of interest.
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However, you can always select the Show all options box if you want to take a look at all the entry possibilities. From here, if they are all displayed, the window is divided into four sections.
Comparison with student answer
Once you have decided what format you expect the student answer to be in, you have a few options for how their response should be compared to the correct one.
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You can see a detailed description of each option in the table below.
| Comparison with student answer criteria | ||
|---|---|---|
| Literally equal | This removes all mathematical interpretations from the comparison. The student's answer is only correct if it matches the correct answer exactly. For example, if the correct answer is 4, but the student writes 4.0, it will not be counted. This criterion is rarely recommended. | |
| Mathematically equal | This is the default comparison. It will detect if what the student has written is mathematically equal to the correct answer. For example, we don't need to worry if the student writes a + b or b + a. You can find three checkboxes below to choose if order and repetition are ignored or not from lists. | More details |
| Compare as lists/sets | Order and repetition matter in lists: When checked, the elements in the student's answer must be in the same order and appear the same number of times as in the correct answer. | More details |
| Repetition matters in lists, but order does not: When checked, the elements in the student's must appear the same number of times as in the correct answer, but not necessarily in the same order. | More details | |
| Order and repetition don't matter in lists: When checked, order and repetition are ignored from lists. So, if the correct answer is the set {1,5,2}, then {5,5,5,2,1} (for example) would be accepted. | More details | |
| Equivalent equations | This comparison is very similar to the mathematically equal option. Still, it is for the particular case where the answer is an equation (e.g. the student could write y=2x-5, or 2.5=x-y2, or any equivalent form). | More details |
| Any answer | Anything that the student answers will be counted as correct. This is useful in some cases. | More details |
| Grading function | Define your own function to decide which answers are accepted and how to grade them. This is an advanced feature. | More details |
Numbers
In the Numbers section, we specify the tolerance criteria used to compare the student's answer and the correct answer. These settings apply globally (to the entire question), and they are divided into four. Firstly, you need to choose if you want the answer to be symbolic or not.
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If you select this option, any answer expressed with decimal numbers will be graded as incorrect. It must be a combination of operations, fractions, roots, and functions to do so. If it's enabled, it will be the only option available.
Otherwise, you can specify the tolerance criteria used to compare the student's answer and the correct answer.
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You can choose between the three possible options:
Exact answer: This option requires the student's response to be exactly equal to the correct answer.
Error margin: This option requires the student's answer strictly within the tolerance interval. You can define this margin as a percent error or an absolute error. It's selected by default at 0,1 percent error.
Matching digits: This option requires the student's answer to match the first significant figures or decimal places with the correct answer.
Tip
You can see more details about the tolerance available options here.
Below, you can choose the format in which you want to require the student's answer.
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You can choose between the three possible options:
Scientific notation: This option requires the student's answer to be expressed in normalized scientific notation.
Decimal notation: This option requires the student's answer to be expressed in plain decimal notation.
Any notation: This option allows the student's answer to be expressed either in scientific or decimal. It's selected by default.
Tip
You can see more details about the format available options here.
Below, you can define a precision that requires the student's answer. It allows you to check the minimum and the maximum number of significant figures or decimal places the student answer must-have.
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Simplification
Sometimes it's not just the value of the answer that's important, but also its form. This usually happens when you teach basic algebraic manipulation and want the answer in a particular format.
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You can see a detailed description of each option in the table below.
| Specific property | Correct examples | Wrong examples | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified | It checks whether the expression cannot be simplified. Includes fractions, powers and roots, polynomials... | √x³ | √x⁴ |
| Expanded | It checks whether all operations that can be done are performed | 27 | 1+1 |
| Factorized | It checks whether an integer or a polynomial is expressed as product of primes | 2⁴·3 | 48 |
| Common factors | It checks whether the summands of the answer have no common factors | 2(2+3+4) | 4+6+8 |
| Common denominator | It checks whether the answer has a single common denominator | x+1/x-1 | x+1/x-1+x-1/x+1 |
| Rationalized | It checks whether the expression does not have square (or higher) roots in the denominator. It also checks whether the expression has a pure real denominator (in the case of complex numbers) | √2/2 | 1/√2 |
| Minimal radicands | It checks whether any present radicands are minimal | 2√2 | √8 |
| Match unit of measure | It checks whether the unit of the answer is literally equal to the given one | 3 km, given 3km | 3m·s-¹, given m/s |
Tip
For a complete and advanced description of all the properties, see assertions.