Formulas question type in inorganic nomenclature

Formulas question type in inorganic nomenclature

by Agustín Sánchiz -
Number of replies: 8

Hello,

I am a chemistry teacher at a high school, and I am thinking about the possibility of using question type to elaborate chemical nomenclature questions. 

I want to summarize in a single question all the possible binary compounds that the elements with oxidation state +1 can form with oxygen, and thus save a lot of time and effort, as it would be able to summarize seven possible issues in one. Then I could repeat the process for the chemical elements with oxidation state +2, +3, etc.

First, I have created a random variable like this: 

U = {"lithium", "sodium", "potassium", "rubidium", "cesium", "silver", "gold"};

In the statement I have put the following:

Name the following compound: di{U} monoxide.

In this way I got a random statement that encompasses all possible names. 

I have the problem when I want to create a group of variables for the answers. 

I've thought of a variable like that:

V=["Li","Na","K","Rb","Cs","Ag","Au"]

In this way the possible correct answers correspond to the general formula: V₂O.

But unfortunately my knowledge on this type of issue is so basic that I can't find a way to relate both groups of variables. 

For example, if the program randomly chooses " lithium", how can we associate to that first variable ("lithium") the other variable of the second set ( the symbol "Li")?

And there I am, stranded like a ship. If you could help me I would be very grateful.

Regards

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In reply to Agustín Sánchiz

Re: Formulas question type in inorganic nomenclature

by Dominique Bauer -
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Hello Agustín,

Define a random index in Random variables: (indexes start at 0 and the last one is not included) 

i = {0:7};

Define the lists of names and symbols. Pick one name and corresponding symbol with the same random index i: 

name = ["lithium", "sodium", "potassium", "rubidium", "cesium", "silver", "gold"];
symbol = ["Li","Na","K","Rb","Cs","Ag","Au"];
U = name[i];
V = symbol[i];
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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Formulas question type in inorganic nomenclature

by Agustín Sánchiz -
Thank you very much for your help. It will be very useful to me !!
Regards!
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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Formulas question type in inorganic nomenclature

by Agustín Sánchiz -
Hi Dominic,
I have followed the steps you have indicated, but I'm sure I'm not doing something right. The program gives me an error message in the response type.
I give you screenshots.
a) What i have put in variables:










b) And the error message in the response type. I don't know exactly which option to choose. I have tried to put quotes, brackets, etc.

Thank you very much for your help.
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In reply to Agustín Sánchiz

Re: Formulas question type in inorganic nomenclature

by Dominique Bauer -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers

Hello Agustín,

The Formulas question does not have a string answer type per se. However, the algebraic formula answer type requires a string as the answer. A workaround can therefore be used.

Formatting of the answer boxes is necessary to get a good appearance.

The two points above make the preparation of the question a bit laborious. Maybe you could consider some chemistry plugins.

Anyway, you will find the following example at https://moodleformulas.org/course/view.php?id=78&section=11 ↗.

Formulas_20201007_2329.png

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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Formulas question type in inorganic nomenclature

by Agustín Sánchiz -

Hi Dominique,

I will study the example carefully and try to apply it to the problem at hand.

I'll tell you the result.

Thank you very much for everything.

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In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Formulas question type in inorganic nomenclature

by Agustín Sánchiz -

Hello Dominique,

I have modified the question you posted. I have increased the number of possible compounds to formulate, including binary compounds of O, S, Te and Se.

The problem is that in my language, the elements O and Te originate compounds whose name cannot be included in global variables, because the program fails.

For example, oxygen compounds in my language are called "òxid", with a tilde. The tellurium compounds in my language are called "tel·lulur", with "l·l". 

Is there a way for Moodle to accept special characters like "´" "`"  or  "l·l" in a global variables? Otherwise the question statement appears with misspellings.

I post the question in case you want to see it.

Thank you!!

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In reply to Agustín Sánchiz

Re: Formulas question type in inorganic nomenclature

by Dominique Bauer -
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Agustín,

Unfortunately, this workaround uses the name of variables, which must be made up of only aphanumeric characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9 and _). A response type with strings would be a useful addition to the Formulas question, but it has not yet been developed.

I think the STACK question allows entry of strings, but you'll have to check.
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