Inklings PaperChem

Support

Questions, problems, or anything that isn't working — please write, and you'll get a reply from a person.

Common questions

How do I see the answers?
Tap the three-dots button at the top of the worksheet and choose Answer key. It shows every answer beside its problem. If you have set a parent PIN you will be asked for it first, so a student cannot reach the answers on their own; with no PIN set, it opens straight away.

How do I see how a problem is worked?
While grading, tap a problem to mark it wrong, then tap See Full Solution in the red box. Every problem in the app is worked in full from its own numbers: the law or formula is stated first, then one step at a time, with a check at the end and a diagram where one helps. For the topic as a whole, tap its section heading on the answer sheet to open a how-to page with the method, the mistakes people usually make, and worked examples.

Do I have to use a PIN?
No. The app starts with no PIN, and answers and grading open freely. Set one in Settings → Parent if a student uses the device unsupervised, and turn it off again there with Disable PIN, which asks for the current PIN so a student cannot do it.

I've forgotten my PIN.
There is no way back into the answers, grading, the reset button or Disable PIN without it, and 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. Please pick something you will remember, and note that a student who watches you type it will know it too.

How does it decide what to give next?
The course is taken topic by topic, in order, and each worksheet 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 worksheets 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 worksheets. 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 General 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 worksheet 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. You can skip any of them.

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 the button in the middle of the bar at the bottom of the screen, labelled Subject Videos. It lists the topics on the current worksheet, 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, worksheets 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 worksheet is?
Yes, in Settings, along with the most pages a worksheet may run to. Problems that need room, such as ones with a diagram, count for more than one, so a worksheet of those has fewer problems on it and leaves space to work.

Can I make a worksheet or test of my own?
Yes. Create Test, in the bar at the bottom, builds a test from the topics on your student's recent worksheets. Manual mode lets you choose any topics from the whole course and the number of problems. Both are graded the same way and kept in History.

I don't have a printer.
Use the share button on the worksheet to send it as a PDF — to a computer, to a print shop, or to anywhere else that can print. The worksheet is laid out for US Letter paper.

Where is my student's progress stored?
On your device, and nowhere else. Inklings PaperChem 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.