Author a sketch question

A sketch question involves students using sketching tools from the Sketch Board toolbar to plot a curve on a Sketch Board.

IMPORTANT: Screen readers can't interpret sketching questions.

IMPORTANT: Sketching questions don't support algorithms.

You can define a single curve or a group of curves as the correct answer, as well as customize the display of the Sketch Board's plotting area.

The tools that are available to your students while attempting your sketch question can be customized (check out Customize the student Sketch Board toolbar).

Some example sketch questions that you could ask are:

• Graph a single or multiple lines or curves.
• Indicate which region represents the solution set (single line or curve, multiple lines or curves).
• Make the line solid or dashed to indicate whether the line is in the solution set.
• Remove the portion of the line or curve that does not belong.
• Use an open or closed circle to indicate whether the endpoints belong.
• Add asymptotes to logarithmic and exponential curves.
• Demonstrate what will happen in the supply/demand graph if the supply decreases by 3 at each price.

TIP: Check out View additional examples of sketch questions to inspire your sketch question authoring creativity.

TIP: All questions are authored using the Question Editor. Check out Author a question to learn how to access the Question Editor.

To author a sketch question

To author a sketch question from the Question Editor:

1. Enter the question statement in the Question Text pane of the Question Editor.

1. Click Response Areato select the type of response area for this part of the question.

NOTE: A question can have multiple question parts. Each question part have a different type of response area. Example — A question could have the first response area as a sketch response area, and a second response area as clickable image.

1. Click Sketch from the list of response area types.

1. Assign a weight to the response area. The default response area weighting is 1.

TIP: The response area weight can be any integer greater than 0. Response area weighting is proportionate to the question total. Example — A question with two response areas could have the first response area weighted as 2, and the second response area weighted as 4. This means that the second response area will be worth twice as much as the first response area when calculating the total grade for the question.

1. Define the ranges that you want to be visible for the x-axis and y-axis using the Axes field. Enter numerical values for the axes using the following form: x-axis minimum value, x-axis maximum value, y-axis minimum value, y-axis maximum value. Example — The default axes values are -10,10,-10,10.

1. Define the tickmarks that you want to be visible for the x-axis and y-axis using the Tickmarks field. Enter numerical values for the tickmarks using the following form: x-axis major tickmarks, x-axis minor tickmarks, y-axis major tickmarks, y-axis minor tickmarks. Example — The default tickmark values are 4,5,4,5.

1. Define if the gridlines are visible on your Sketch Board by manually entering one of the following values in the Grid field:

• true — Gridlines are visible (entered by default)
• false — Gridlines are hidden

1. (Optional) You can pre-populate the Sketch Board plotting area with highly customizable curves drawn in the background by entering functions in the Background functions field (Example — Math.pow(4,x);).

TIP: Want to use a background function but aren't a JavaScript expert? No problem! Check out the Draw a background curve subsection of the Use the Sketch Board toolbar help topic. You'll see how to draw a background function without needing to use JavaScript syntax using the Switch Pre-Drawn sketching tool. This toolbar method also allows you to click-and-drag your background function to relocate it if needed.

1
x:dashed; Math.sin(x)

1. (Optional) You can graph more than one curve on the Sketch Board. Use the Group plots drop-down list when plotting multiple curves to select:

• Yes — All of the curves you're about to plot are to be grouped as one mathematical relation and all curves are the same color (Example — a piecewise function)
• No — All of the curves you're about to plot exist as separate functions, and each curve is a random color (selected by default)

IMPORTANT: Axes, tickmarks, grid, and optional background function settings can be changed at anytime during your question authoring. However, the Group plots field must be defined before plotting your curves on the Sketch Board.

1. Click Update so that your Sketch Board is configured to accept your grouped plots (if Yes is selected at step 9) and shows your defined axes, tickmarks, grid, and optional background function settings.

1. Plot your correct answer on the Sketch Board using the Sketch Board toolbar.

TIP: The sketching tools that you use to plot the correct answer are the sketching tools that are available to your students on their Sketch Board toolbar while attempting your sketch question. You can customize what sketching tools are available to your students. Check out Customize the student Sketch Board toolbar.

1. Click Insert to add this response area to the question.

1. The response area is inserted into your question (indicated with an empty plotting area placeholder).

1. Click Preview to trial your new question to ensure that it behaves as expected.

TIP: You first have to click the save iconif you're creating this question from within an Activity Editor. After the question has been saved, you can then click the preview iconto ensure that your new question behaves as expected.

1. Click Save to save your new question. Your new question is now stored in the Questions pane of the Content Repository.

TIP: Click the save iconif you're creating this question from within an Activity Editor. This saves your question to the activity and the Content Repository.

Grading details for sketch questions

Sketch questions are graded as correct or incorrect with no partial grading when only one curve is being assessed.

Partial grading is awarded when multiple curves are being assessed.

NOTE: The Group plots option must be set to No for partial grading to be awarded when assessing multiple curves.

Sketch questions have a built-in tolerance that is based on the curve being plotted to determine how close the student response has to be to your defined correct answer.

1
op(1,[Grading:-GradePlot($ANSWER, $RESPONSE, $PLOTVIEW, tolerance=n.n)]);