\blank

Description

Used to place a response object in Inline and Blanks questions. \blank may only appear within the argument to \qutext .

The \blank macro has two different definitions, depending on the question type in which it is used.

\blank in Inline questions

In an Inline question, the \blank macro can be used with or without arguments.

If used without an argument, \blank places a response object at that point in the question. The properties of the response object—its mode, display type, correct answer, and so on—are set outside of \qutext , using the blank environment. See the first example below.

This method of specifying a response object is somewhat tedious. For math-type blanks (e.g., Equation, Formula, Maple, MultiFormula, Numeric), a streamlined version of \blank can be used to completely describe a response object without needing a separate blank environment. This version of \blank takes two arguments: the question type, and a list of properties.

Syntax

\blank{mode}{property-list}
mode
The question type.
property-list
A comma-delimited list of key-value pairs, of the form "key=value".

See the second and third examples, below, for a demonstration of this use of \blank .

\blank in Blanks questions

Syntax

\blank[text|menu|formula]{answer}
Optional argument 1 must be one of the following:
text
A text blank.
This is the default. If the optional argument is omitted, it is assumed to be text.
menu
A menu blank; the response object will be a drop-down menu.
formula
A formula blank.
answer
The correct answer.
  • For [text] blanks, this argument should be the answer the student is expected to give.
  • For [menu] blanks, this argument should be a comma-delimited list of the options to appear in the drop-down menu. The correct answer must be the first item in the list.
    If you need a comma to appear in one of the choices, use the ASCII escape sequence '%2c'.
  • For [formula] blanks, this argument should be the answer the student is expected to give. Enter the answer in calculator syntax.

Examples

\begin{question}{Inline}
\qutext{The graph of the equation $y=x^2+2x+1$ is a parabola.

In which direction does the parabola open?\\
\blank

What are the coordinates of the parabola's vertex? \blank

What is the equation of the parabola's axis of symmetry? \blank}

\begin{blank}{Multiple Choice}
\choice*{Up}
\choice{Down}
\choice{To the right}
\choice{To the left}
\end{blank}

\begin{blank}{Ntuple}
\answer{(1,4)}
\end{blank}

\begin{blank}{Equation}
\answer{x = 1}
\end{blank}

\end{question}
\begin{question}{Inline}
\qutext{The graph of the equation $y=x^2+2x+1$ is a parabola.

In which direction does the parabola open?\\
\blank

What are the coordinates of the parabola's vertex?
\blank{Ntuple}{answer={(1,4)}}
% Above, we need the braces around (1,4) to protect the comma.

What is the equation of the parabola's axis of symmetry?
\blank{Equation}{answer={x=1}}
% Now, we need the braces around x=1 to protect the =.
}

\begin{blank}{Multiple Choice}
\choice*{Up}
\choice{Down}
\choice{To the right}
\choice{To the left}
\end{blank}

\end{question}
\begin{question}{Inline}
\qutext{A particle's velocity is given by the function
$v(t)=5\sqrt{t}$, where $t$ is time in seconds, and $v$ is velocity in 
meters per second.

During the time interval $0\le t\le 4$, how far does the particle 
travel? Give your answer to three significant 
figures.\\
\blank{Numeric}{answer=80/3 m, digits=3}

During the time interval $0\le t\le 4$, what is the particle's average 
velocity? Give your answer to three significant
figures.\\
\blank{Numeric}{answer=20/3 m/s, digits=3}}
\end{question}