Inklings Chemistry

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Common questions

How does my student answer?
Under each problem is its answer laid out the way the answer key writes it. A number goes in a box with its units already written, for example [ ] mol/L. A formula, an ion, an equation or an electron configuration is typed into a chemistry box the way it reads, and the box shows it written properly as it is typed: Fe2O3 shows as Fe₂O₃, SO4^2- as SO₄²⁻, 2H2 + O2 -> 2H2O as 2 H₂ + O₂ → 2 H₂O and 1s2 2s2 2p6 as 1s² 2s² 2p⁶. A nuclide has two small boxes, the mass number over the atomic number, beside a box for its symbol. Questions answered in words or names have buttons instead. The keys above the keyboard add brackets, the arrow, a charge and the digits.

How are typed answers marked?
A number counts as right when it is within one per cent of the answer, which is what giving three significant figures means, so 12.4 is accepted for 12.5 but 12 is not. Powers of ten can be typed as 2.1e6, 2.1x10^6 or written out in full, and a minus sign as a hyphen. Chemistry is marked the way a teacher would: spaces, the order of the substances on each side of an equation, a coefficient of 1 left out and state symbols left off do not matter, but capital letters do (Co is cobalt, CO is carbon monoxide), and an equation must be balanced with the smallest whole numbers. A problem with a box left empty is marked wrong.

Why do the pictures move?
Each picture builds itself the first time it is fully on the screen: glassware is drawn and fills, particles fly into place, atoms pop in and bond, graphs trace their curves. It plays once, and again whenever it is tapped. Printed problem sets and PDFs show the finished picture. If you have turned on Reduce Motion in the iPhone's accessibility settings, the pictures stay still.

How do I see the answers?
Tap the three-dots button at the top of the screen and choose Answer key under For parents. If you have set a parent PIN you will be asked for it first, so your student cannot reach the answers on their own. After a problem set is submitted, every mistake shows its correct answer and full worked solution.

How do I see how a problem is worked?
Submit the problem set: each mistake opens with its worked solution, the law or formula stated first, then one step at a time with the problem's own numbers, a check at the end and a diagram where one helps, under See Detailed Answer. A pencil marks the answer on the question first: a wrong one struck through with the right one beside it. For the topic as a whole, tap How-to above its questions for the method, the usual mistakes and worked examples.

Do I have to use a PIN?
No, but it is recommended, since your student uses the app on their own: without one, the answer key, settings and tests open for anyone. Set one at setup or in Settings → Parent, and turn it off there with Disable PIN, which asks for the current PIN.

I've forgotten my PIN.
There is no recovery code: the PIN is stored only as a one-way hash, so it cannot be read back off the device by anyone, including us. The only route is to delete the app and install it again, which clears every student and starts you at setup.

What do the XP, stars and trophies mean?
Every right answer earns XP, a finished problem set and a perfect one earn a bonus, and mastering a topic or passing a test earns more. XP climbs the ranks; a problem set a day builds a streak, and every seven days earns a shield that saves it once. Nothing is ever taken away, and nothing rewards speed. Younger students see stars and ranks, older ones scores, tiers and achievements; you can choose the style in Settings → Rewards.

How do I follow my student's progress?
Progress shows where your student is in the course, scores sheet by sheet, how long a problem set takes, the topics mastered and anything that needs attention. From there you can send a short update by text or email, or set one up to go automatically with Apple's Shortcuts app.

How does it decide what to give next?
The course is taken topic by topic, in order, and each problem set draws on up to six topics: the ones your student is working on, plus an occasional refresher from something already mastered. A topic that is new gets two problems; as your student gets it right it gets more, and harder ones. A topic counts as mastered after three problem sets in a row with at least ninety per cent correct, and then the next topic in the course takes its place. Both numbers can be changed in Settings → Completion criteria: 85 to 100 per cent, and two to five problem sets. Getting a refresher wrong puts that topic back into rotation.

How is a level paced, and when are the tests?
Each level (a grade, or a course such as Organic Chemistry I) is worked through in four quarters, and each quarter is finished before the next one opens. When only one or two topics are left in a quarter, the problem set is topped up to three with topics your student has already completed in it, starting with the ones they found hardest. When the last topic is complete the app offers a test: a Mid-Term after the first quarter, the Semester Final at the halfway point, a second Mid-Term after the third quarter, and the Final at the end of the level. A Mid-Term covers its quarter, the Semester Final the first half, and the Final the whole level. Setting one aside needs the PIN. A test scored below 80% waits for you to pass or fail your student; failing gives three review problem sets and then a re-test.

My student is getting problems that are too easy.
Go to Progress, open the level they are past, and tick what they already know. Ticking a topic also ticks everything it builds on, plus every topic two or more levels below it, so you can usually mark a whole year in one tap with Level Completed.

Why does the same topic keep coming back?
Either it is not mastered yet, or it is appearing as a refresher. Refreshers come from topics already mastered and are there to keep them from fading. You can make them rarer or more frequent in Settings → Review problems.

Where are the videos?
Tap Subject Videos at the top of the problem set. It lists the topics on the current problem set, each with one to three recommended videos. Tapping one opens it in the YouTube app, or in Safari if YouTube isn't installed, so it needs an internet connection; nothing else in the app does.

How do I add another student?
Tap the name at the top of any screen, then Manage students, then Add student. You can have up to thirty on one device. Each keeps their own progress, problem sets and history, and the parent PIN is shared across all of them. When you add a student you can mark what they already know, so an older student does not start at units and measurement.

Can I change how long a problem set is?
Yes, in Settings. Problems with a diagram count for more than one, so a problem set of those has fewer problems on it.

Can I make a problem set or test of my own?
Yes. Create a test, in the ⋯ menu at the top right, builds a test from the topics on your student's recent problem sets. Manual mode lets you choose any topics from the whole course and the number of problems. Both are answered and marked the same way and kept in History.

Can my student work on paper instead?
Yes. The parent menu on the problem set (behind the PIN) prints it or shares it as a PDF, laid out for US Letter paper. A sheet done on paper can be graded by hand from History.

Where is my student's progress stored?
On your device, and nowhere else. Inklings Chemistry makes no network connections of its own. If you back up your device, the app's data is part of that backup, the same as any other app.

How do I delete a student, or everything?
To remove one student, open Manage students and swipe their name. To erase everything, use Settings → Reset all progress, which needs the PIN if one is set. Deleting the app removes all of it permanently.