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Students’ Comparison of Their Trigonometric Answers with the Answers of a Computer Algebra System

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Intelligent Computer Mathematics (CICM 2013)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 7961))

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Abstract

Comparison of answers offered by a computer algebra system (CAS) with answers derived by a student without a CAS is relevant, for instance, in the context of computer-aided assessment (CAA). The issues of identity, equivalence and correctness emerge in different ways and are important for CAA. These issues are also interesting if a student is charged with the task of comparing the answers. What will happen when students themselves are encouraged to analyse differences, equivalence and correctness of their own answers and CAS answers? What differences do they notice foremost? Would they recognise equivalence/non-equivalence? How do they explain equivalence/non-equivalence? The paper discusses these questions on the basis of lessons where the students solved trigonometric equations. Ten equations were chosen with the aim to ensure that the expected school answer and the CAS answer would differ in various ways. Three of them are discussed more thoroughly in this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, 2 J. Liivi Tartu, 50409, Estonia

    Eno Tonisson

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  1. Eno Tonisson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Computing and Software, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, L8S 4K1, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Jacques Carette

  2. School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, 10 Crichton Street, EH8 9AB, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

    David Aspinall

  3. School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK

    Christoph Lange

  4. Faculty of Informatics, Department of Computer Graphics and Design, Masaryk University, Botanická 68a, 60200, Brno, Czech Republic

    Petr Sojka

  5. Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU), RISC, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040, Linz, Austria

    Wolfgang Windsteiger

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Tonisson, E. (2013). Students’ Comparison of Their Trigonometric Answers with the Answers of a Computer Algebra System. In: Carette, J., Aspinall, D., Lange, C., Sojka, P., Windsteiger, W. (eds) Intelligent Computer Mathematics. CICM 2013. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 7961. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39320-4_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39320-4_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-39319-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-39320-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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