I am building an algebra 1 course for my school, and was wanting to create simple randomly generating practice sets for graphing points / lines / etc.

However, the Sketch answer type doesn't allow for any variable input like the other questions do. Is there a work around? 

Presuming a randomly generated $x and $y, is there any way to check to see if a student has plotted the point ($x, $y)?

I'm creating a randomly generated question bank that generates the following STYLE or problem:

12x^-4y²
3x⁶y^-5

I'm currently trying to use the answer type "formula without simplification," as I'd like to avoid the students putting the questions in as the answer, and this has been driving me crazy for hours now.

I have tried the "maple" function to simplify. E.g.:

$ANS = maple("( $C1*( $V1^$A1 )*( $V2^$B1 ) ) / ( $C2*( $V1^$A2 )*( $V2^$B2 ) )");

But it always throws an error.

I have simply done the math in the algorithm section, so you end up with an answer variable like this:

$ANS = -4.0*(((z)^2.0)/(5.0*((p)^9.0)))

However, it will still count all answers submitted as incorrect.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated =/.

Variable name clarification
I have $C1 and $C2, which are the constants of the numerator and denominator, respectively ("12" and "3" in the example).
I have $V1 and $V2 which are the first and second variable, respectively, (in the example, "x" and "y").
I have $A1 and $A2, which are the exponents for the variable $V1 in the numerator and denominator, respectively.
I have $B1 and $B2, which are the exponents for the variable $V2 in the numerator and denominator, respectively.

All these generate from some interesting conditions to create the problems I want (no variables named i, e, or o, for example,) but all properly initialize.

I apologize, as I'm still very new. I've flipped through a lot of pages, but I'm unsure of how Maple code translates to Maple TA.

I have randomly assigned an integer for the value of a year in Maple TA. I'd like it to appear as "2013" for example, but it will instead appear as "2,013". Is there a way to set the output formatting of a variable individually within a problem in TA?

Thanks!

I am setting up a practice set on how to find a common denominator, add, and reduce.

If I do not set "allow arithmatic", there is no way for students to correctly type in the answer, which is CURRENTLY the return value for a frac() function call. If I DO set "allow arithmatic", the student can just literally type the question into the answer box to get full credit / never has to reduce, etc, which defeats the purpose of the lesson. This is also the case with the Maple Graded answer type unless I do something fancier than I'm doing.

I can set up the answer properly without using frac() and reduce the fraction, but then--when the answer should be a whole number--the student has to type in "3/1" as an example.

I've also tried setting up an if statement for the answer, but when i convert the numbers to strings, then "2/3" becomes .2.0/3.0". 

So, at this point, I'm super open to ideas. 

# Define the denominators. We want them to be between 2 and 8.
$B=rint(2,8);
$D=rint(2,8);

# Make it so that the numerators can be between 1 and 1 less than the denominators.
# We also want to make sure they're not 0.
# Hashtag dividingby0.
$R=rint(-$B+1,$B-1);
$A=if($R,$R,1);
$S=rint(-$D+1,$D-1);
$C=if($S,$S,1);

# Calculate the numerator multiplied by the denominator. We'll do this step expressly
# because we'll want it for our feedback.
$X=($A*$C);
$Y=($B*$D);

#Calculate the greatest common factor and the answer.
$G=if(gcd($X,$Y),gcd($X,$Y),1);
$ANS=frac($X,$Y);

Greetings, all!

I'm extremely new to Maple T.A., and I am building tools for my math department since I'm the only one with a programming background. I have a generic question, and sincerely apologize if I've missed it being answered elsewhere. It's a case that will probably come up multiple times for us, so I was hoping to find an answer =).

I have a problem where students are adding exponents of like bases. As an example, you get questions that look like this.

When the coefficient is 1, I'd like to accept a blank answer in the first response area as a correct solution. Is there an easy (or less easy =) way of making this happen?

Thanks in advance!