The number line plot Question type requires learners to plot points on a line, or stack points above a line.

Figure 1: number line plot Question example.

Create a Question

Enter the Question stem into the 'compose question' area.

Add the minimum and maximum values of the number line. You can also enter the number line title which will be displayed underneath the number line by default.

Set a value for the number of responses allowed. This determines the number of elements the learner can add to the number line. For instance, if the task is to plot three inequalities, the number of responses allowed will be three.

Figure 2: line section settings.

Now, configure the correct responses for your Question. Follow these steps to set up the scoring options and correct responses:

• Insert a value in the point(s) area to set up a total score for the Question,
• Using the tools below the number line, select the points on the number line to indicate the correct responses.

An example validation is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: example Question validation.

More options

Under the More options button, in Scoring section, you can change formatting settings, scoring types and apply different styles to your Question.

The following scoring types are available in the number line plot Question type:

• Exact match - all parts of the Question must be correct to receive a full score.
• Partial match per response - each correct response element will be awarded an individual score.
• Partial match - each correct response element will be scored individually and the overall Question score will be divided between responses.

Figure 4: number line plot Question scoring types.

Other Scoring options:

• Unscored/Practice usage type - Enabling this option will remove all scoring from the Question.
• Penalty point(s) - The value entered here indicates marks that will be deducted from the learner for an incorrect response.
• Check answer button - If this is enabled, a "Check answer button" will appear to the learner alongside the Question; clicking this button will indicate to the learner if their answer is correct or incorrect, but it will not tell them the correct response. This can be useful for informal assessment.
• Check answer attempts - The value entered here will indicate how many times the learner can use the "Check answer button". A value of 0 indicates an infinite number of times.
• Minimum points if attempted¹ - Points awarded to the learner for attempting the Question, regardless of a correct or incorrect response.

Layout

Various styling options can be applied to the number line plot. The layout drop down menu allows you to choose between horizontal and vertical plotting. You can also add a custom width in pixels which will set the width of the number line area.

The line margin (in pixels) defines the distance between the number line extremes and the borders of the number line area.

The spacing between stacked responses (in pixels) defines the distance between multiple responses when they are stacked above the number line.

The stack responses toggle allows you to switch from plotting responses on the line to stacking them above the number line.

The show min arrow and show max arrow allows you to show or hide arrows on the minimum and maximum values of the number line.

Figure 5: number line layout settings.

Ticks

This section provides options to configure the ticks on the number line.

The show ticks controls the visibility of ticks on the number line.

The rendering base should be defined in cases where the label frequency is greater than one. This option will determine if labels will render from zero or the line's minimum value.

The tick distance field allows you to insert whole numbers, standard or decimal fractions, or mixed numbers.

The minor ticks can be configured to be displayed at the specified interval between major ticks.

The show min and show max toggles control the visibility of the minimum and maximum ticks on the number line.

Figure 6: number line ticks settings.

Labels

Show labels - enable to show labels on the number line.

Enable 'show min' and 'show max' if you want the labels to be drawn on the minimum and maximum values on the number line.

You can also add specific points that should be labeled on the number line. To do this, insert one or more values in the points field. Multiple points can be added by separating them with a comma.

Toolbar

Add or remove tools that are available for learners to use for their responses in the Question toolbar. Click "+Add" below the section title and select the tool from the drop down menu. This will display the tool button in the Question toolbar. Click the trash icon to remove the tool.

Figure 7: adding tools to the number line.

The following is a list of all tools available.

Note: there is an alternative cross tool which can be used instead of the default point tool.

Point
Cross
Segment
Segment open on left (or bottom)
Segment open on right (or top)
Open segment
Leftward (or downward) ray
Rightward (or upward) ray
Leftward (or downward) open ray
Rightward (or upward) open ray
Delete

Figure 8: number line tools.

'Extra' options

The extras section in the authoring interface allows you to add more information about the Question, information that we refer to as metadata.

There are a number of fields available: acknowledgements, contains math, distractor rationale, distractors, instructor stimulus, rubric reference, sample answer, and stimulus (review only).

To learn more about the options shown in the Extras section, see Understanding the Extras Section of the Question Editor.

1. Note: “Minimum points if attempted” replaces the earlier label “Minimum score if attempted”. Version added: v2026.1.LTS