How to create a mock exam with worked solutions
Build clear multiple-choice questions, mix concepts with calculations, and write explanations that make the results useful.
AI-assisted writing. Feature steps checked against StudySoda’s current editor, study screens, and API contracts. Our editorial approach
Treat each question as a small teaching unit: a precise prompt, one defensible correct choice, and an explanation of the reasoning.
Map the exam to the lesson before adding questions
List the ideas and procedures the exam should cover. For simple interest, that might include identifying principal, converting months to years, choosing a day-count basis, finding interest, and separating interest from maturity value. This gives you a coverage check when the exam becomes long.
Include both Concept and Calculation questions. A concept question can test why an annual rate needs time expressed in years. A calculation question can ask the learner to use that conversion. Adding many questions with only different numbers does not automatically test more ideas.
Open Create exam, add a descriptive title, and begin with a few representative questions. Check their quality before expanding the set. You can create a long exam, but each additional item should serve a clear purpose.
Make the prompt complete and the choices distinct
The prompt should include every fact needed to solve the problem, including units and any convention that changes the result. For day-based interest, say whether the year uses 360 or 365 days. Open the material’s Details for Instructions that apply throughout; open each Question details for supporting context, and state exceptions there.
Add between two and six distinct answer choices and explicitly select the correct one. If you remove the selected answer, choose the correct answer again. Check that a rounded option is not effectively equal to another option under your stated rounding rule.
For example: “What is the simple interest on $3,000 at 8% per year for six months?” Choices of $120, $240, $1,440, and $3,120 can expose different mistakes. The correct answer is $120. The last choice is a maturity value, so the prompt must clearly ask for interest.
Use identification and missing-value challenges
In Answer format, choose Written answer for a term or Number or amount for a calculation. Write the correct answer, then open Explanation for the worked solution. Question details holds alternate wording, rounding allowance, problem context, and the missing-cell table builder.
For a complete learning-by-doing set, choose Practice Lab in Create or Create with AI. Its visual table builder lets you edit headings and rows, then select one cell for the learner to complete. Add a scenario or an image with descriptive alt text when it helps explain the task. AI creates source-grounded text and editable tables; attach illustrations yourself in the editor.
Practice Lab starts with immediate feedback and Hard difficulty. Type an answer in the field or highlighted table cell, then choose Check answer. Checked answers lock and show the worked explanation. Correct challenges earn session points once. Use the question selector, flags under Options, and results to review your work or retry missed challenges. Answers and checks stay in the open page. Finish shows your result there; download a report to keep it. To retry without immediate solutions, select After submission under Options & report on the result, then choose Try again.
Explain the method, not just the answer letter
Open the question’s Explanation disclosure; StudySoda requires an explanation for each authored question. A missing or invalid field opens automatically when you try to publish. For the example, show t = 6/12 = 0.5, then I = 3,000 × 0.08 × 0.5 = $120. Explain why $3,120 answers a different question. A learner can then distinguish a wrong formula from a correct calculation of the wrong quantity.
For a concept question, describe the rule and why it applies. Avoid “A is correct” as the whole explanation: options may be edited later, and the letter does not teach the idea. Add a source reference when the question depends on a particular chapter, definition, or convention.
Work every calculation independently before publishing. If an AI helped draft questions, check its keys, assumptions, and arithmetic just as you would check your own first draft. A fluent explanation can still contain a wrong step.
Publish deliberately and check the learner flow
Connect the exam to its topic in Details if a reviewer or deck already exists. Check the visibility choice. New exams default to Public; Private requires Plus or Pro.
In a learner’s current round, choose immediate feedback to check and lock one answer at a time, or see answers and explanations after Finish. Questions can be flagged, and the open page retains answers during the round. Results include the score, missed items, and worked explanations. Try the flow to check whether the solutions are understandable without the original notes.
Use StudySoda exams for practice and self-assessment. Authored solutions are available to the browser for practice checks. A round uses the questions it opened with; Try again or reloading reads the current accessible material. Keep the page open while studying and download a useful report before leaving.
Put it into practice.
Create an examFurther help
- Exam editor
Question types, answer choices, explanations, and calculation conventions.
- Review a practice round
Answers, flags, immediate checks, and result filters.
