# Video: Inserting Mathematics Equations into Your Questions

In this video, we will show you how to insert equations into the questions that you write in your portal.

06:08

### Video Transcript

In this video, we will show you how to insert equations into the questions that you write in your portal.

There is a separate video on how to create your own questions in your portal so we won’t go into specific detail of how to create questions, but we will highlight the key steps.

First, to create a question, you must be a portal educator and be signed in to educators.nagwa.com. Then, click on “My Library”, followed by “Questions”, and finally “+ New Question”.

You’ll then need to fill out the necessary information for the question on the left-hand side, including selecting the intended lesson that you would like to add it to (note that this could be a lesson that you create).

You can create two types of questions: a multiple-choice question and a short-answer question, and we will demonstrate how to add mathematics equations to each of these question types.

First, we’ll see how to create a multiple-choice question. Here, you have a box for the question itself along with the multiple-choice options. Suppose we want to add the question “Evaluate two thirds plus three quarters” but we want to write this out mathematically. We can write “Evaluate” into the box, and then we can click the square root symbol to insert the mathematics equation.

We’ll now see an equation box open. You have two options for the type of equation that you would like to add, either an inline equation or a displayed equation. Inline means that the equation will appear in the line of the text, whereas a displayed equation will appear in its own line.

If you open a new tab and head to www.nagwa.com/en/math, you will find a helpful reference page including the LaTeX syntax for various mathematical expressions and symbols. If you scroll down, you’ll find a section on fractions, and you can copy this code and paste it into the equation box. The equation will automatically render if the LaTeX expression is complete, and you can adjust the numbers as required.

As we want to include the sum of two fractions, we will copy the fraction expression twice, separate this with an addition symbol, and then adjust the numbers to match our desired question: two-thirds plus three-quarters.

If you are proficient with LaTeX, you can write an expression directly into the box. If it’s correct, it will render. Make sure that you have selected whether you want an Inline or Display equation. Once you’re happy with your equation, click “Insert” and you’ll see the equation appear in the question box. We are going to end our question with a full stop, so we’ll add that in.

Now, you need to fill in the multiple-choice options. If your multiple-choice options are words or numbers, you can write these directly into the box, but if you need to include mathematics like we do here, the equation insert tool is not currently fully supported, so instead of clicking this button, you will need to include the expression “$$“. Now, as before, you can either write the LaTeX syntax directly or copy the necessary syntax from the tab www.nagwa.com/en/math. Our answer is “seventeen twelfths”, so we will copy across “\frac{a}{b}” and then adjust the numbers accordingly. To finish, we then need to add “$$“. This is the correct answer, so we will highlight this by selecting the tick.

To complete the remaining options, you can copy the expression from the box above and adjust the numbers accordingly. You have to have at least one distractor, but you can add up to four.

Once you’re happy, you then have three options: click “Cancel” if you no longer want to add the question, “Add” if you would like to continue adding questions, or “Add and Finish” if this is the only question that you’d like to add.

We want to add this single question, so we will click “Add and Finish”.

You’ll then see the new question appear in your questions area. If you want to delete or edit any question, you can do so by clicking the three dots at the top right of the question. Click “Delete” if you want to remove it or “Edit” if you want to change something. Once you’re on the edit screen, make the required changes and then click “Save”.

If you want to create a short-answer question (which is a question for which the answer is provided directly by the student), for example, “Write down the quadratic formula”, select “Short-Answer Question” and write the phrase “Write down the quadratic formula”. The difference is that instead of the multiple-choice boxes, you will have a single-answer box where you can provide the recommended answer. You can add any mathematics in an identical way to the question demonstrated previously. For example, we could click “Insert Equation” button and then add the syntax “x=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}” and click “Insert”.

Note that with multiple-choice questions, these will be automatically marked by our system, whereas when a student solves a short-answer question, it will not be automatically marked. Instead, these will need to be graded by you as an educator and the student will be shown your model answer to compare with their text response.

Once you’re happy, you can add the question as before as long as you have filled in the required information on the left-hand side.