Instead of writing out each variation of a question and its multiple-choice answer list, you can vary the questions and answers by stating them with variables whose values are assigned algorithmically. You can define variables globally for an entire exam, or locally for a single question or question variant. If you define variables locally, you can use the same letters to mean different things in different questions.
With the Exam Builder, you can assign values to variables with two types of definitions. Delayed definitions, which are defined using the symbol =, are re-evaluated every time the variable is used in the generated exam. Immediate definitions, which are defined using the symbol : =, are evaluated only once, when the exam file is generated. We recommend that in most cases you use immediate definitions.
Understanding the difference between the two types of definitions is important. For example, if you set up a question using the immediate definition a : = [some random number expression], the Exam Builder will use the expression to define a as a random number. The definition occurs once, when an exam file is generated. Every time the variable a is evaluated by the Exam Builder, its value is the same. The value of the variable will change only if you generate a new exam, at which time the Exam Builder will generate a new random value for a.
On the other hand, if you set up a question using the delayed definition a = [some random number expression],
the Exam Builder will
define a as the random number expression itself. The Exam Builder will
re-evaluate the expression and generate a new value every time it encounters
the variable a in the question. Therefore, it's possible for the variable
to have different values at different points in the same question.
Because the Exam Builder creates definitions automatically, you must not provide explicit Maple definitions for variables, as you ordinarily do when you create mathematics in Scientific Notebook. You must not use the Maple New Definition command to create questions in Exam Builder source files.
To enter a
definition