Who Wants to Be a Mathematician: Beginner's Guide for Students

(1)

Who Wants to Be a Mathematician:

Beginner's Guide for Students

Copyright © Maplesoft, a division of Waterloo Maple Inc.

2013

(2)

Preface

Introduction

Recommended Configuration for Client Machines

Browser Settings

• All clients require a Java-enabled browser. • JavaScript™ and cookies must be enabled.

• Instructors require Java Runtime Environment™ (JRE™) 1.6 or Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.7. • Students require Java 1.6 or Java 1.7.

Client Machine Supported Configurations

Windows (32-bit and 64 bit) Platforms

Hardware Requirements Browsers

OS Versions

1 GHz processor or better, 2 GB RAM or better

Firefox® 17.0 ESR, 21.0, Google Chrome™ 27.0, Internet Explorer® 8.0, 9.0, 10.0, Maple T.A. Proctored

Browser*

Windows XP®

Firefox 17.0 ESR, 21.0, Google Chrome 27.0, Internet Explorer 8.0, 9.0, 10.0,

Maple T.A. Proctored Browser*

Windows Vista®

Windows 7

Windows 8

*For Students: Instructors may require that students take a test in the Maple T.A. Proctored Browser. The Proctored Browser can be installed on Windows only. On Windows XP, the Proctored Browser requires Windows XP SP 3 or later. The Proctored Browser also requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 to be installed.

64-bit Macintosh Platforms

OS Versions

Firefox 17.0 ESR, 21.0, Safari 5.1, 6.0 Mac OS X® 10.7 or 10.8

Linux (32-bit and 64-bit) Platforms

OS Versions

Firefox 17.0 ESR, 21.0, Google Chrome 27.0

SUSE® Linux Enterprise Desktop 11,12

Red Hat® Enterprise 5, 6

Ubuntu® 12.04 LTS, 12.10

Internet Access

Broadband (Cable Modem or DSL) Internet connection is recommended for optimal performance

(4)

1 Who Wants to Be a Mathematician: Beginner's Guide for

Students

1.1 Logging into Maple T.A.

To access your Maple T.A. account, do the following.

1. Launch an internet browser that has a Java plugin enabled.

2. Enter the URL to access the Maple T.A. site. Note: If you do not have the URL, please contact your teacher. You will see a webpage that looks similar to the one below:

3. Log in using your credentials. If you do not have a login id, please contact your teacher to obtain it.

The first time you log in, you will be asked to validate your information. Please enter in your information as shown below.

(5)

4. Once you have validated your information, or any subsequent time you log in, you will see the System Homepage. 2 • 1 Who Wants to Be a Mathematician: Beginner's Guide for Students

(6)

1.2 Accessing the "Who Wants to Be a Mathematician" Class

To access the Class Homepage for the "Who Wants to Be a Mathematician" class, click on the corresponding hyperlink for that class.

1.3 Taking A Test

Taking the Practice Test

On the Class Homepage, click on the "WWTBAM Practice Test" hyperlink:

(7)

You now see the first assignment question:

There are a few buttons you can press to navigate through assignment questions. The following table summarizes buttons and their actions:

Description Button

Go to the next question in the assignment Next

Go to the previous question in the assignment Back

Navigate to any question in the assignment Question Menu

Finish your assignment Grade

Access the help system for Maple T.A. Help

This will complete your test Quit & Save

Once you have finished your assignment, click Grade.

If you have left any questions unanswered or made errors in your input, you will be notified before you see your grade:

Note: if you see the above screen, go back and fix the issues reported or click Grade a second time to finish. You will then be taken to the Grade Report screen. You will also see your final grade and can view which questions you got right or wrong by clicking View Details.

(8)

You can then click Quit & Save to return to your Class Homepage.

Taking a Qualifying Test

On the Class Homepage, click on the hyperlink for the test you are taking. For example, if you are taking the round 1 test, click on the"WWTBAM 2014 Round 1 National Contest Qualifying Test" hyperlink:

You will now see the first assignment question.

(9)

If you have not yet been authorized by your teacher to take the test, you will see this screen:

Once you have authorization, you have permission to take the test.

There are a few buttons you can press to navigate through assignment questions. The following table summarizes buttons and their actions:

Description Button

Go to the next question in the assignment Next

Go to the previous question in the assignment Back

Navigate to any question in the assignment Question Menu

Finish your assignment Grade

Access the help system for Maple T.A. Help

This will complete your test Quit & Save

Once you have finished your assignment, click Grade.

(10)

If you have left any questions unanswered or made errors in your input, you will be notified before you see your grade:

Note: if you see the above screen, go back and fix the issues reported or click Grade a second time to finish. You will then be taken to the Grade Report screen. You will not see your final grade.

You can then click Quit & Save to return to your Class Homepage.

(11)

Text Mode vs Symbol Mode

On some questions, you have the option to Change Math Entry Mode. If you click this link, you see the following:

When using Text Mode, remember to use your syntax correctly. For example, 1+x/1-x is different from (1+x)/(1-x).

Under the input dialog box is a Preview link that shows you what your text input looks like in Symbol Mode:

Symbol Mode Representation Expression

1+x/1-x

(1+x)/(1-x)

When using Symbol Mode, you can click on the symbol you would like to input by using the palette menu: 8 • 1 Who Wants to Be a Mathematician: Beginner's Guide for Students

(12)

Special Characters in Text Mode

When answering questions in Text Mode, the following summarizes how to respond with special operators:

Arithmetic addition + subtraction -multiplication * division / exponentiation ^

Numbers and Constants

3.14159... pi Functions square root sqrt logarithm base 10 log natural logarithm ln Trigonometric Functions sine sin cosine cos tangent tan

1.4 Contact Maple T.A. Technical Support

If you have any technical questions related to Maple T.A., you can contact Technical Support: Telephone: 1-800-267-6583 ext. 413

Email: [email protected]

(13)

Index

A

assignments grading, 4, 6 navigating, 4, 6

quitting and saving, 5, 7

C

class homepage accessing, 3

G

Grade Report screen, 4, 7

L

Login to Maple T.A., 1

M

Math Entry Mode symbol mode, 8 Text Mode, 8

P

practicetest taking, 3

Q

qualifyingtest taking, 5

S

System Homepage, 2

T

Taking A Test, 7

V

Validate Student Information, 1 View Details link, 4

viewing your grades, 4

Who Wants to Be a Mathematician: Beginner's Guide for Students