Show your work

Updated 04 Aug 2023

For some questions, you'll show how you got the answer.

You see the Show work button when you have to show your work for a question. This button opens the Show Work window, where you can draw, enter text or equations, or upload images.

If your instructor has not yet graded your work, you can select Show work and change the contents of your entry.

  1. Select the Show work button in the player.
  2. Use the tools at the top of the window to enter and format your work.
  3. Select Save.

    If you do not select Save, your answer is graded as incomplete.

Select Print at the bottom of the window to print your work.

Use the tools at the top of the Show Work window to show your work:

image of the toolbar

Tool

 How to use it
select icon

Select an object

 Choose the selection tool and then select the object (such as a line or math equation). A blue box appears around the selected object.

You can move a selected object around the window.

Hold down the blue handle in the lower right corner of a selected image to resize it.
Draw icon

Draw a line

 Select the dropdown arrow next to the pencil icon to select a line width.

Use the color dropdown (Pick color icon) to choose a color for your line.

Then drag to draw the line.
Erase icon

Erase

 Select the dropdown arrow next to the eraser icon to choose a width for your eraser. Then move the eraser over the object you want to erase.

To erase an image, select it and then select Delete.
Text icon

Enter text

 Select the text icon to add a text box.

When you click or tap in the window, a text toolbar appears so you can choose your font, the font size, font color, text box background color, font weight (bold or italic), and paragraph alignment.

When you have made your font choices, enter your text.

To change a font choice, select the Text icon and then click or tap in your text box to reopen the text toolbar.
Math expression icon

Enter math
expressions

 Select the Math expression icon to enter math notation like square roots, fractions, and Greek letters (e.g., pi).

When you click or tap in the window, a text box appears where you can enter your math expression. Image of the text box

Select the blue rectangle under the text box to open the basic Symbols palette. Symbols popup with templates for adding math notation The arrows let you move left/right/up/down in your expression. The blue symbols are templates. For example, if you select the absolute value template , it appears in the box and you can type a value where the blue rectangle appears: An entry showing the absolute value of 4.

If the symbol you want isn't shown, select More to open the complete palette.

For more on entering math notation, see Use the math palette.
Pick color icon

Pick a color

 Select the Pick a color icon to choose a color for lines that you draw in the window.
Add image icon

Add an image

 Select the Picture icon to upload a file from your computer to the window.

You can drag the image in the window. Hold down the blue handle in the lower right corner to resize the image.

Select background icon

Choose a background

 Select Background to choose whether your drawing window has a blank background, a ruled background like writing paper, or a graph-paper background.
Select background color icon

Choose the
background color

 Select Pick background color to choose a background color for the drawing window.
Send to front, send to back icons

Bring an object to the front /
send an object to the back

 Select the Bring to front icon to place a selected object on top of other objects.

Select the Send to back icon to place a selected object behind other objects.

For example, if you have a blue line on top of a yellow line:

Blue line in front of the yellow line

You can select the blue line, select the Send to back icon , and the blue line will be in back of the yellow line:

Blue line behind the yellow line
Undo and redo icons

Undo / redo
past entries

 Select the Undo icon to undo your last entry. Select again to undo the next to last entry, and so on.

Select the Redo icon to redo the last-deleted entry. Select again to redo the entry you deleted before that, and so on.
Delete icon

Delete

 Select the Delete icon to remove a selected object.

If you select the Delete icon and no objects are selected, all the objects in the window are deleted.

If you are working on a touch-screen device, the on-screen keyboard is not available in the Show Work window.