Create List and Rank-Order chemPad Questions

Unordered lists are delimited by commas and order is not important, so the following responses are equivalent:

• Li, Na, K
• K, Na, Li

Rank-order lists are delimited by three symbols: >, <, and =. These symbols are used to indicate items' relative ranking, so the following responses are not equivalent:

• H < He < Li
• Li < H < He

Either-order lists, like rank-order lists, are delimited by three symbols: >, <, and =. These symbols are used to indicate items' relative ranking, but your students can specify their response either in ascending or descending order, so the following responses are equivalent:

• H < He < Li
• Li > He > H

1. Click Questions › Create. The Question Editor opens.

2. In Name, type a name for the question.

3. In Mode, select Fill-in-the-Blank.

4. In Question, add the following code, replacing answer_key with your answer key:

   <eqn>
   $mykey='answer_key';
   ''
   </eqn>

   This code assigns your answer key to the variable $mykey. You can use a different variable name if needed.

   For example:

   Answer	Code
   He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn (in any order)	<eqn> $mykey='He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn'; '' </eqn>
   NO2 > N2 > NH3	<eqn> $mykey='NO_{2} > N_{2} > NH_{3}'; '' </eqn>
   NO2 > N2 > NH3 or NH3 < N2 < NO2	<eqn> $mykey='NO_{2} > N_{2} > NH_{3}'; '' </eqn>

5. In Question, type your question.

   Provide relevant information about assumptions or expectations for the question, for example, the conditions for the question — STP, SATP, or reaction/prevailing conditions — or whether states-of-matter should be specified in the response. Use the answer placeholder string <_> to specify where the answer box should be displayed.

6. In Answer, type the following items on a single line:

   <EQN $PAD='chem'; $CHEM='method'; $mykey>

   where method is one of the following chemPad parsing methods:

   List Type	Delimiters	Method
   Unordered	,	rnk
   Rank-order	><=	rnk
   Either-order	><=	rnk,either

   For example:

   Answer	Code
   He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn (in any order)	<EQN $PAD='chem'; $CHEM='rnk'; $mykey>
   NO2 > N2 > NH3	<EQN $PAD='chem'; $CHEM='rnk'; $mykey>
   NO2 > N2 > NH3 or NH3 < N2 < NO2	<EQN $PAD='chem'; $CHEM='rnk,either'; $mykey>

   By default, your students must specify each chemical formula exactly as listed in your answer key. To allow specific kinds of notation, you can add a comma and one of the following methods after rnk or rnk,either:

   Notation	Example	Method
   Solvate dot	CuSO4 · 6 H2O	solvate

   For example:

   <EQN $PAD='chem'; $CHEM='rnk,either,fmla,index'; $mykey>   

7. Type a Solution.

   The solution helps your students understand the steps they need to take to determine the correct answer to the question. Your assignment settings specify when to show the solution.

8. Click Test/Preview to test the appearance and behavior of the question. See Test Questions.

9. Click Redisplay to show certain kinds of errors in the Display section of the Question Editor. Make any needed changes to your question.

10. Click Show Additional Information and change the question's sharing permission or add descriptive information.

    • By default, other instructors can use your question only if you provide them with the question ID, and only you can edit the question or find it in search results. To change the permission, see Share Questions With Other Instructors.
    • If you make your question publicly available, you might want to provide descriptive information to help others search for it. See Add Search Metadata to Questions.

11. When your question displays and functions correctly, click Save.

    WebAssign assigns it a unique question ID (QID), which is displayed in parentheses after the question name.

    You can use your question in an assignment and see it in your My Questions list only after it is saved.

Example chemPad Question (Unordered List) The following table summarizes an actual question. QID 1534331 Name Template2 5.CHEMP.04. Mode Fill-in-the-Blank Question <eqn> $mykey='He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn'; '' </eqn> List the noble gases in any order. (Separate substances in the list with a comma.)<br> <_> Answer <EQN $PAD='chem'; $CHEM='rnk'; $mykey> Display to Students Example chemPad Question (Rank-Order List) The following table summarizes an actual question. QID 1534321 Name Template2 5.CHEMP.05. Mode Fill-in-the-Blank Question <eqn> $mykey='NO_{2} > N_{2} > NH_{3}'; '' </eqn> Rank the following gases by mass density (at identical temperatures and pressures) in decreasing order: <h:chemical>N_2, NH_3, and NO_2</h:chemical>. (Use the appropriate <, =, or > symbol to separate substances in the list.)<br> <_> Answer <EQN $PAD='chem'; $CHEM='rnk'; $mykey> Display to Students Example chemPad Question (Either-Order List) The following table summarizes an actual question. QID 1534315 Name Template2 5.CHEMP.06. Mode Fill-in-the-Blank Question <eqn> $mykey='NO_{2} > N_{2} > NH_{3}'; '' </eqn> Rank the following gases by mass density (at identical temperatures and pressures): <h:chemical>N_2, NH_3, and NO_2</h:chemical>. (Use the appropriate <, =, or > symbol to separate substances in the list.)<br> <_> Answer <EQN $PAD='chem'; $CHEM='rnk,either'; $mykey> Display to Students