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@@ -1,55 +1,81 @@ MOODLE ALGEBRA QUESTION TYPE ---------------------------- -Created by Roger Moore +This implements an *algebraic* question type for moodle. The student enters a formula. For example: -### Original readme by Roger Moore +* Suppose the right answer is `½ sin 2θ`. Then `sin(θ) cos(θ)` will be considered equally correct. -These files implement a algebra based question type for Moodle. +* Suppose the right answer is `1/√(1-x^2)`. Then `cosh(asinh(x))` +will be considered equally correct. -The code has been tested and used for a large, introductory physics -course (~120 students) at the University of Alberta for several -terms now and is stable and suitable for use in a production -environment. +This is a huge improvement over multiple choice. -The code is all released under the GPL V3. +This is a light-weight plugin. It implements its own simple routines +for parsing and evaluating expressions. It takes only a couple +minutes to install and configure, if you already have a working moodle +system. -Please send any bugs, comments, suggestions for new features etc. -to me. +### Principles of Operation -Enjoy, +The plugin tests the answer by evaluating it numerically and comparing +to the desired answer specified by the teacher. The evaluation is +performed at random points within a specified interval. -Roger Moore <rwmoore@ualberta.ca> +(The code purports to provide other ways of evaluating formulas, but +these are untested and unsupported.) -### Additional readme +There are ways of specifying multiple correct answers, for full or +partial credit, if that's what you want. -Updated to Moodle 2.0 by Stefan Raffeiner <stefan.raffeiner@gmail.com> -Updated to Moodle 2.1 by Jean-Michel Védrine <vedrine@univ-st-etienne.fr> +If a variable name spells out a Greek letter (e.g. `beta` or `Lambda`) +it will be formatted as the corresponding letter (`β` or `Λ`). +Variable names can have subscripts, e.g. `x_min` or `beta_3`. -This plugin is now maintained by Jean-Michel Védrine. This version is upgraded to -work with Moodle 3.0 and ulteriors versions. It has been tested with Moodle versions up to 3.7. +#### Input formatting: -For support use the Moodle quiz forum at https://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=737 +Express the inputs the way you would program in a computer language. +Do not try to format or typeset the inputs. -### Installation and set-up +The plugin will show a formatted, typeset version. This is slightly +helpful to confirm that the your input was understood, but mostly it's +just cosmetic. The typeset version plays no role in the evaluations. -#### Install from the Moodle plugins database +### Installation and Setup - https://moodle.org/plugins/qtype_algebra +#### Install using git: -#### Install using git +To install using git:<br> +:; cd $moodle/<br> +:; git clone https://www.av8n.com/cgit/moodle-qtype_algebra/ question/type/algebra<br> +:; echo '/question/type/algebra/' >> .git/info/exclude -To install using git, type these commands in the root of your Moodle install: -git clone https://github.com/jmvedrine/moodle-qtype_algebra.git question/type/algebra echo '/question/type/algebra/' >> .git/info/exclude +Then run the moodle update process. This may require you to install a +bunch of php plugins that you heretofore didn't need. The update page +will guide you through this. It should be visible at:<br> Site +administration > Notifications -Then run the moodle update process Site administration > Notifications +For support, consider using the [Moodle quiz +forum](https://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=737), which covers all +Moodle question types (not just this one): +[https://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=737](https://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=737) -Enjoy. +#### Requirements: -Jean-Michel Védrine +For the display to work you need to have some way of displaying TeX +expressions activated on your Moodle website: either the TeX filter or +the MathJax filter enabled. Beware that there are thousands of web +sites that give outdated or just plain wrong instructions for +installing MathJax, so you may find it easier to rely on the builtin +Tex filter. -WARNING : -I am now retired and I stopped all Moodle related activities. -This repository is here just for history and this work is not maintained any more. -Feel free to fork it and modify it to suit your needs or improve compatibility with recent Moodle versions. -Additionally you can consider contacting the Moodle team and become the new maintainer of this plugin. Thanks +### See Also + +There exists a much more heavy-weight solution to the same problem. It uses +a fully-featured computer algebra system as its back end: +[STACK question type](https://docs.moodle.org/311/en/STACK_question_type) +[`https://docs.moodle.org/311/en/STACK_question_type`](https://docs.moodle.org/311/en/STACK_question_type) + +### Colophon +* Originally created by by Roger Moore +* Updated to Moodle 2.0 by Stefan Raffeiner +* Updated to Moodle 2.1 by Jean-Michel Védrine |