Mismatched Interval Notation in Math Input (Auto-complete Parentheses/Brackets)

Questions
1

Hello,

I’m running into an issue with math response fields when students try to enter mismatched interval notation (like (-8, 2]).

It looks like an update over the summer changed how auto-complete behaves in the math input component. Now, when a student opens with a parenthesis ( or bracket [, the field automatically inserts the matching pair. When trying to type a mixed interval like (-8, 2], it forces matching enclosures, resulting in nested or garbled inputs like [(-8, 2)].

Please see the example activity I created here:

Because of this, students are unable to type mismatched intervals cleanly, which breaks standard LaTeX string checks in Computation Layer (CL).

A couple of questions for the community:

  1. Is there any setting or toggle in CL / screen settings to disable automatic closing of parentheses and brackets in a math input?

  2. If auto-complete can’t be toggled off, how are you currently handling answer checks or input for half-open intervals like (-8, 2]?

Thanks in advance for any advice or workarounds!

2

Surprised no one from Amplify responded to this!

For anyone else running into this issue and looking for a workaround: I came up with a solution where students can copy and paste the mismatched brackets and parentheses directly.

Feel free to check out Slide 2 of the attached activity to see how it works in action:

3

Sorry about that! I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a workaround elsewhere in the forum before (possibly using multiple choice components or something a bit hacky). I think until the Desmos calculator supports mismatched brackets, this is unlikely to change. You can put in a feature request for disabling autocompletion through a support ticket. I’ll pass it along other channels as well.

4

Can you please tell me how to put in a feature request? I create activities for my college courses to show how graphs and equations relate to each other. We use interval notation when describing domain and range and other properties of graphs. The fact that the auto-complete does not allow mismatched brackets or parentheses is preventing me from using the activities in my courses. I have had to abandon dozens of activities - I would love to be able to use them again.
Thank you!

5

I believe the pathway is the same as a support ticket here. Try that, but I will also link your post and pass this along.