Set up a quiz with randomised and multivariable questions

1. From your unit page, click on your quiz.
   

   

2. Click on the Add question button

   OR

   Click on Questions in the top banner menu. 

3. Click Add. From the drop-down options, select + a new question.

   

4. From the pop-up window, select Calculated simple from the list, then click Add.
   

   

5. On the Adding a Simple calculated question page, in the General section:
   1. In the Question name field enter a suitable name for the question.
   2. In the Question text field enter the question or equation to be calculated.

   

   In the eg. shown, base of {b} and height of {h} of the rectangle have been chosen to be randomised every time the quiz is generated.  Note: The syntax for entering a randomised variable to the question/equation is {variable name}.

6. Scroll down to the Answers section. In the Answer 1 formula = field enter the formula/equation to be used for calculating the correct answer.

   

   In the eg. shown, the surface area of a rectangle is being calculated using the formula {b}*{h}  where base {b} and height {h} are the same randomised variables added to the question. Note: The formula/equation must include the randomised variables addressed using the correct syntax i.e. {variable name}

7. Click Find the wild cards {x…} present in the correct answer formulas
8. Expand the Wild cards parameters used to generate the values section to view the range of values for each variable.

   

9. In the Range of Values field, set the minimum and maximum values for each variable.
10. Select the number of sets to generate from the drop-down options. Then, click Generate.
11. Select the number of sets to display from the drop-down options. Then, click Display.
12. Under Wild cards(s) values section, you will be able to see the different sets of your question.

    

13. Click Save changes to save your quiz.

Example of student view

1. From your unit page, click on your quiz.
   

   

2. Click on the Add question button.

   OR

   Click on Questions in the top banner menu. 

3. Click Add. From the drop-down options, select + a new question.

   

4. From the pop-up window, select Calculated (not Calculated simple) from the list, then click Add.
   

   

5. On the Adding a Calculated question page, in the General section:
   1. In the Category field select the Default for Quiz option from the drop-down list.
   2. In the Question name field enter suitable name for the question.
   3. In the Question text field enter the question or equation to be calculated.

      Note: The syntax for entering a randomised variable to the question/equation is {variable name}

   4. In the Default mark field enter the marks to be allocated for the question.

   

6. In the Answers section, in the Answer 1 formula = field enter the formula/equation to be used  for calculating the correct answer.
7. In the Grade field, select appropriate mark % from the drop-down options. For eg. if there is only one correct answer select 100%.

   Note: Multiple or alternative correct answers can be added for solving the question. This can be done by clicking Blanks for 1 more answers and incorporating the additional formula/equation as per Step 11.

   

   In the eg. shown,the area of a rectangle is being calculated using the formula {x}*{y}  where length {x} and width {y} are the same randomised variables added to the question above Note: The formula/equation must include the randomised variables addressed using the correct syntax i.e.{variable name}

8. Click Save changes

   To choose the dataset properties for the randomised variables, see Create multi-variable question sets (below).

1. In the Choose a question type to add pop-up window, select Calculated option (not Calculated simple). Then click Add.
2. In the Category field, select the same category that you want to add the question to.
3. In the Question name field enter a suitable name for the question. (ie: Question 1).
4. In the Question text field enter the question or equation to be calculated.

   

   For example, Calculate the area of a rectangle that has a length of {x}m and a width of {y}m),  where {x} is randomised variable 1 and {y} is randomised variable 2. Note: The syntax for adding a randomised variable to a question is {variable name}. Each variable will assume a random value from a pre-defined range every time this quiz question is generated for a student. These randomised variables are also referred to as “wild cards”.

5. Scroll down to the Answers section.
6. Add your formula to Answer 1 formula (ie: {x} * {y}). Do not put the equal sign (=) in the formula.
7. Add Grade. If you have multiple answers, one of the answers must have a 100% grade.

   

   Note: You can also set the grade, tolerance, feedback for this answer. If you have any issues with formula syntax or functions, refer to the Moodle resource on correct answer formula syntax.

8. Click Save changes.
9. Leave the settings in the Choose wildcards dataset properties section as default and click Next page.
10. In Edit the wildcards datasets, you can set the range of values for the wild cards that you’ve created previously (ie: {x} and {y}). When Moodle delivers a Calculated question to the student, the wild cards are replaced with randomly-selected values from your pre-defined range of possible values.

    

11. This allows you some control over the possible values chosen - for example, in order to make sure the numbers are realistic.
    1. Pick a value for wild card {x} then set the range of values. You are also able to set the decimal places.
    2. Pick a value for wild card {y}.
12. Click Update the datasets parameters box at the top.
13. Scroll down to the Answers tolerance parameters section and click show more… at the bottom right to expand the section. You will be able to see the substitutions of your wildcard values into the formula that you added earlier. The correct answer will also be present here.
14. You can also adjust the tolerance, number of decimal places, etc.
15. To save your changes, click Update the answers tolerance parameters.
    

    

Preview the quiz

Scroll down to the end of the page and click the Preview icon. You will get a pop-up window. You can fill in the answer box to test whether the quiz is working properly.

1. Scroll down to the Add section.
2. In the Add item dropdown options, select the number of different sets of wild cards values you would like for this question.

Note: The maximum number of different sets you can have is 100. If you select 100, it means that there are 100 different sets of questions which will be given randomly to your students.

3. Click Add.

   

4. Scroll down, in Display the  dropdown options, select the number of different sets of wild cards values you would like to display this question.
5. Then click the Display.

   

6. Scroll down to the end of the page and click Save changes.

Delete question sets

1. In the Delete section, from the Delete item drop down options, select the number of different sets of wild cards values you would like to delete for this question.
2. Click Delete.

   

3. Scroll down to the end of the page and click Save changes.

It is possible to set consistent variables for a student across multiple questions. This allows you to make questions that build upon one another for more complex quizzes.

1. From the Question bank tab, Select the Categories from the dropdown list and click Add category.
2. Expand the Add category section.
3. Select a parent category for your new category from the dropdown list.
4. Provide a name and description for your category.