Guide to the "Math" Blocks

This article will teach you about the Math blocks in our Dynamic Engine.

The Math Blocks

There are 13 kinds of math blocks you can use in the Dynamic Engine. This article focuses on the following 6 core blocks:

Specific Number
Random Number
Random Fraction
Basic Equation
Sum of List
Round

Math Block: Specific Number

The specific number block lets you specify a specific number. For example, the following blocks set the variable "number" to "100".

Math Block: Random Number

The random number block randomly generates a number between two numbers with specified increments. For example, the following blocks set the variable "number" to a random number between "0" and "100", in increments of "10".

For further clarity, the above example would create a random number that could be 0, 10, 20... up to 100.

Math Block: Basic Equation

The basic equation block lets you specify mathematical operations with specific numbers or variables. For example, the following blocks first set the variable "number" to a random number between 0 and 100, in increments of 10, and then using a basic equation block adds the number "1" to a new variable "new number".

There are five mathematical operators within the dropdown menu of basic equation block:

x multiplied by
÷ divided by
+ add to
- subtract from
^ to the power of

You can nest multiple basic equation blocks inside of each other, creating a whole world of possibilities. For example, the following two basic equation blocks were combined to 1) double the variable "number" and 2) take it to the power of a 3.

Math Block: Sum of List

The sum of list block adds all the values in a list. It must be combined with a list block in order to work. For example, the following blocks set the variable "number" to 10, by adding the specific number blocks 2, 3 and 5 together.

There are eight operators within the dropdown menu of this block:

sum: add all values in a list together
min: finds and returns the minimum value in a list
max: finds and returns the maximum value in a list
average: calculates the simple average value of a list
median: finds and returns the median value in a list
modes: finds and returns the mode(s) in a list
standard deviation: calculates the standard deviation of a list
random item: finds and returns a random value from a list

Math Block: Round

The round block rounds a value to the nearest whole number. For example, the following blocks set the variable "number" to the value "3", by rounding 3.14159 down to 3.

There are three operators within the dropdown menu of this block:

round: rounds to the nearest whole number
round up: rounds up to the nearest whole number
round down: rounds down to the nearest whole number

Example Question Using Math Blocks (Beginner)

Consider the following Multiple Choice question in EXAMIND:

The goal of this question is to change the data for each student.

Here is what the Dynamic Engine would look like:

What's happening here is that the Dynamic Engine is generating 3 random numbers within specified limits, it then creates three answer options, two of which are functional distractors with those random numbers.

Here is what the sample question would look like (values highlighted in blue for convenience):

Note - EXAMIND's dynamic engine will never allow two choices to be identical for answer choices in an exam question.