Mathematical and scientific symbols September 2014

Transcription

1 Mathematical and scientific symbols September 2014 There are several techniques for writing maths and science expressions when using Digital Question papers: 1. hand-write on the paper (either on the hard copy paper provided for each candidate using digital papers) or on the print out of the digital paper; 2. hand-write on the digital paper using the pencil tool in Adobe Reader or your tablet app; 3. insert symbols into answer boxes using the methods below; 4. write the expression using an equation editor such as Efofex then copy and paste into the digital paper; 5. answer the questions using an equation editor within Microsoft Word and don t use the answer boxes at all. Hand-write on the Digital Question Paper Using Adobe Reader, click Comment Tool > Drawing Markups. First right-click on the Pencil tool and choose Tool Default Properties, then select a colour. (We suggest a dark colour that will print out well.) Now draw your answer on top of the answer box. Most people find this much easier using a graphics tablet, stylus or touch screen rather than a mouse. Figure 1: Drawing by hand with the Adobe Reader pencil Before you start writing your expression, turn off the form field highlighting so that you can see more clearly. On an ipad or tablet computer, you can use a stylus or finger to draw your equations. Figure 2 shows how an equation can be written on an ipad using the PDF Expert app you could also use for example ClaroPDF or the Adobe Reader app. Figure 2: An equation on an ipad For more on using ipads and tablets with Digital Question papers see Papers/iPad/.

2 Insert symbols into answer boxes From 2013, the answer boxes in the maths digital papers are Rich Text Fields (RTF) which allow text formatting (bold, underline, italic etc) and also use of ASCII keyboard codes to type in some mathematical symbols. (Previously, the answer boxes were Plain Text which did not permit text formatting.) You can also copy and paste symbols and characters into answer boxes. It is still relatively cumbersome to generate mathematical and scientific expressions, however, and many candidates will be better off using Microsoft Word with the Efofex Maths or Science Pack. Formatting text in RTF fields Select the text, then right-click and choose the style to apply, or use the keyboard shortcuts listed below. Bold Italic Underline CTRL-B CTRL-I CTRL-U Superscript SHIFT - CTRL - + Subscript CTRL - + To remove the formatting, repeat the command (i.e. hitting CTRL-B once applies bold, hitting it again removes it). You can use this facility to format simple algebraic equations, as shown. Insert symbols from the Windows Character Map (PC only) You can insert some common mathematical symbols into the digital paper answer boxes using the Windows Character Map. Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map. Find the symbol you want, click Select, Copy and then go to the digital paper and paste the symbol into the answer box. (Thanks to David Imrie from Ashcraig School for this tip.) Insert symbols using ALT codes Some of the more common symbols have ALT codes which let you type them without having to open the Character Map. If the symbol has an ALT code, it will be displayed in the bottom right hand corner of the character map. See the Appendix at the end for how to use type symbols with ALT codes.

3 Copy and Paste symbols from the digital paper or from another file Lastly, you can copy and paste symbols from the digital paper itself, or from another Word or PDF document (such as this one). Select a symbol from the digital paper or this file with the Select Tool Copy it (Edit > copy or CTRL-C) Click in the answer box, then paste (Edit > Paste, or CTRL-V) Use Efofex software There are several equation editors available, including the free tool built into Microsoft Word and OneNote, but we prefer the Efofex products because they are designed for secondary level maths, are easy to use and because Efofex offer free licences for the software for students with special needs. Visit the Efofex web site ( for trial software downloads, manuals and tutorials. Efofex offer: FX Draw a comprehensive drawing package that includes FX Equation and FX Graph; FX Equation an equation editor; FX Graph a tool for drawing graphs; FX Stat - a statistics tool for generating statistical graphs; FX Chem for typing chemical equations; FX ChemStruct for typing chemical structures (e.g. ) You can either run the FX programs by themselves, or from within a Microsoft Word document. In Figure 3, we have run FX Equation from a shortcut on the desktop so we can see it on top of the paper. The answer to the National 5 Maths question is then typed out as text and formatted automatically by FX Equation. It is then copied and pasted into the digital paper and re-sized and positioned to fit the space available. The answer to each question is saved as a separate FX Equation file so that it can be opened and edited later. Figure 3: Typing equations with FX Equation

4 Tips for using FX Equation with Digital Question Papers 1. Use Tools > Edit Options to adjust the settings: b. Set your preferred font and font size (we suggest 12 point) c. In Styles, set the and Vertical spacing to be 1 or 2mm (the default 10mm tends to give too large a gap between each line of the equation). 2. At the top of the expression type in a few dashes (---) and press Enter to get a new line, then start typing the expression. Do the same at the bottom so that the expression is between the dashes. (When you paste the equation into the digital paper it sometimes cuts off the bottom and so the extra line means the expression can still be seen.) 3. Copy the equation as a metafile (CTRL-M, Edit > Copy as Metafile, or click the Copy as Picture button. When you paste it into the DQP it will be smaller and easy to move and re-size. (If you just copy and paste it, it can be much larger and hard to manipulate.) 4. Re-size the equation in to DQP to be slightly larger than the answer box, so that you can grab an edge in case you need to move, re-size or delete it. This is because the equation is behind the answer box and so if it s smaller than the box, you cannot get at it. 5. Save each question as an FX Equation file so that you can open it again and change it if necessary. Use FX Equation within Word FX Equation is installed as an add-on in Microsoft Word, and so another technique is to write the answers into a Word file and then copy and paste into the Digital Paper. The advantage of this is that the answers are kept together in one file. To keep things neat and tidy, we suggest you set up a file with a blank Word table with two columns, or use a Digital Answer Booklet from the SQA web site. Use the left hand column to number each question and insert the answer into the right hand corresponding cell. Figure 4: Typing answers into Word with FX Equation

5 Appendix: Maths symbols with ALT codes To type a symbol on a keyboard with a number-pad: Press the "Number Lock" key at the top left of the numeric keypad. Hold down the "Alt" key to the left of the space bar and type the code on the numeric keypad. Type the full code: e.g. for ¾ type Release the ALT key and the symbol will be inserted. To type a symbol on a laptop without a separate number-pad: Look for the function or Fn key, normally near the bottom left of the keyboard. Look for a button with Numlock written in the same colour which is usually near the top right of the keyboard. Hold down Fn and press and release Numlock to turn Numlock on. To type the symbol, hold down ALT and enter the code using the keys with numbers in the same colour as the function (fn) key (not the number keys along the top of the keyboard). For example, "U" normally has 4 on it Turn Numlock off in the same way as you switched it on to continue using your keyboard normally. Not all symbols have ALT codes: those that do not can be inserted using the Character Map, or by copying and pasting. Alt Code Symbol Description Alt Code Symbol Description zero to nine Operators 43 + Plus Sign 45 - Minus Sign 0215 Multiplication Sign 0247 Obelus / Division ± Plus or Minus Pers 37 % Percentage Sign 0137 Per mille (per thousand) Brackets 40 ( Open Bracket 41 ) Close Bracket 91 [ Open Square Bracket 93 ] Close Square Bracket 123 { Open curly bracket 125 } Close curly bracket Fractions 47 / Fraction separator 0188 ¼ Quarter 0189 ½ Half 0190 ¾ Three quarters ⅓ One third ⅔ Two thirds ⅛ One eighth ⅜ Three eighths ⅝ Five eighths ⅞ Seven eighths Equality / inequality 61 = Equals Exactly Identical Approximately equal 60 < Less Than 62 > Greater Than Greater than or equal Less than or equal Powers 0185 ¹ To the power of ² squared 0179 ³ cubed Square Root Cube root ⁿ Power n

6 Angles 248 Degree sign π Pi Integration Integral Top half Bottom Half Others 35 # Number 46. Decimal Point 124 Bar 126 ~ Tilda/Squiggle Σ Sum ƒ Function Change Change Element of 230 µ Micro Infinity 24 Up Arrow 25 Down Arrow 26 Right Arrow 27 Left Arrow 23 Currency 0164 Currency 156 Pound 0128 Euro 36 $ Dollar Sign Cent Yen Peseta 159 ƒ Frank / Gulder Greek characters α Alpha Α 225 ß Beta Β γ Gamma Γ δ Delta Δ ε Epsilon Ε ζ Zeta Ζ η Eta H Θ Theta Θ ι Iota Ι κ Kappa Κ λ Lambda Λ 230 µ Mu Μ ν Nu Ν ξ Xi Ξ ο Omicron Ο π Pi Π ρ Rho Ρ σ Sigma Σ τ Tau Τ υ Upsilon Υ φ Phi Φ ω Omega Ω