If there's a more cost-effective, versatile and generally darn brilliant generator of Maths questions and solutions out there, we'd like to know.
MATHSprint 5.0 for Levels 4, 5 and 6 of the NZ Maths and Statistics Curriculum makes it simple for you to produce unlimited original, high-quality, tailor-made Maths examples, worksheets, homework, revision, cover work, tests and exams in an instant.
If you are involved in Mathematics education, MATHSprint will save you time and stress.
Double-click the topics you want, select the number of parts per question and print.
It's simple to make questions 'on the fly' in the middle of a lesson - you can even use MATHSprint directly from an interactive touch-screen board.
At last - practice material where the answers can't be found online!
MATHSprint generates brand new questions on demand and you can even set different versions of a worksheet within the same class.
Never run out of practice material for your students, thanks to an unlimited supply of intelligently-randomised questions on over 1500 different topics – plus full solutions.
Version 5.0 gives you a choice of 12 fonts, including three specifically designed for dyslexic students and one for those with visual impairment.
Fonts and symbols now display correctly in all pdf viewers and on all devices.
Select from many levels of differentiation within each topic. Review past work, consolidate recent learning and provide more challenging problems.
Compile any combination of topics whatsoever into one worksheet for personalised practice.
World-leading software providing an inexhaustible supply of intelligently-randomised questions with a unique anti-repetition check.
Full graphical generation of questions and answers where appropriate (e.g. Trigonometry, Graphs, Histograms, Discrete).
Solutions are generated automatically for ease of marking, with steps in working shown where appropriate.
Produce unlimited variants of any worksheet in seconds (same topics, different questions).
Three smart layout options: Classic, Ruled and Boxed.
Option for test/exam layout with front cover and formula sheet.
Choice of 12 fonts (3 are dyslexia-friendly) with control of font size and question spacing.
Control the space provided for working - let students answer on the worksheet itself or else condense the layout and answer on separate paper.
Save paper – pdf worksheets can be displayed on a whiteboard, published on your Intranet/VLE or emailed to students.
No need to file paper copies of worksheets and solutions – any sheet can be regenerated on demand.
Site Licence allows all staff in your department to use the software at home as well as at school.
Dersigned by a former Oxford research scientist and Mathematics teacher with 25 years' classroom experience.
Works with Microsoft Windows 7 and later, with no internet access required.
Create differentiated practice material as each new topic is introduced.
Set homework questions where the answers cannot be found on the internet.
Make end-of-topic tests; you can vary the questions from year to year simply by changing the 'sheet number'.
Print customised revision sheets with any desired combination of topics.
Publish questions, solutions and revision material on your VLE or Intranet.
Provide personalised remediation worksheets for IEPs - target the questions to the needs of each student.
Generate questions on an interactive whiteboard and write on top for instant worked examples.
Show practice questions (and answers) on the whiteboard - save paper and time!
Email pdf worksheets to students who are not present in a lesson.
Compile a paperless resource bank of worksheets - any sheet can be regenerated on demand as required.
Use one worksheet for class practice and another (with identical topics but new questions) for homework.
Give different versions of the same worksheet to pairs so that they discuss methods rather than copying answers.
Rapidly produce relevant work for cover lessons when colleagues are absent.
Click to expand:
• Is MATHSprint an online service? Do I need an internet connection?
No. MATHSprint is a Windows program that you download and run on your own PC or network. No internet connection is required after the initial download. You can even run MATHSprint off a USB memory stick on any Windows computer or interactive whiteboard.
• Is it 'MATHS print' or 'MATH Sprint'?
A transatlantic superposition of states, let us say - no need to collapse the wave function, is there?
Both are apposite; it's a program that generates printable worksheets and does so rapidly.
• Is MATHSprint really inexhaustible?
Yes, in the practical sense that you will never run out of questions. The number of possible different worksheets is certainly too large to fit on a standard scientific calculator and the time taken to complete them all would hugely exceed the lifetime of the Universe.
• And instant?
MATHSprint will generate a randomised pdf worksheet from a template file in around one second (unless the worksheet is soul-destroyingly long...). Even if you are starting from scratch, you can compile and create a customised worksheet in well under a minute. I often make example questions 'on the fly' during a lesson and project them onto the whiteboard.
• What about 'indispensable'?
Well, my colleagues who have gained promotion to other schools have asked for a copy of MATHSprint, and when it was inadvertently uninstalled from our network there was a major outcry. We all use it on a regular basis, and we now dread the thought of having to compile and typeset all those equations/diagrams by hand, or else digging out an old worksheet that is not quite suitable but which will 'have to do'.
• But surely there's more to life than worksheets...
Undoubtedly! MATHSprint 'will only help as part of a calorie controlled diet', so to speak. It is no substitute for inspirational teaching, illuminating classroom discussions or enriching investigative activities. Indeed, I am quite a fan of a book I bought which is rather damningly entitled 'Mathematics Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites: Numeracy Strategies That Engage the Brain'.
But Maths is not a spectator sport. The way to get good at Maths is to get lots of practice, and this is where MATHSprint can help. Textbooks have only a limited number of questions on any given topic. Manually creating revision practice sheets that cover several different areas of the course involves hard slog on the computer or else cut-and-pasted photocopies of dubious legality. And the idea of making personalised remediation exercises for each student by hand? Forget it!
Unless you have MATHSprint to hand, when you'll be able to produce any of the above resources in minutes, with no scissors, glue or copyright issues.
Furthermore, with MATHSprint you can immediately email work to absent students. You can project questions onto the whiteboard to use as worked examples or for class practice, thus saving paper. You can even give different sets of questions on the same topics to students working in pairs, who then immediately discuss solution methods rather than simply comparing answers. We think it's rather good, but we'd better let you make up your own mind.
• How much does MATHSprint cost?
Click here to see our current prices for annual and permanent licences.
• What about printing costs?
It is quite possible to project questions and solutions onto a whiteboard in class and then publish homework questions on your Intranet or VLE, thereby minimising printing costs for your institution.
If you print hard copies of worksheets, the cost per double-sided sheet is of the order of two cents (based on typical A4 paper costs and using a printer with low running costs such as a Kyocera Mita model). The large amount of white space on these worksheets means that the percentage ink coverage is very low, keeping your costs down.
Furthermore, the fact that MATHSprint can combine diverse topics within the same worksheet can save you money by reducing the need for several separate worksheets (on Number, Algebra, Shape and Space, etc.) when preparing for examinations.
• Technical requirements
MATHSprint will work with any computer running Windows 7 or later. This includes Windows 8 and Windows 10 but not Linux or Mac operating systems.
An Internet connection is not required to run MATHSprint; for installation purposes you can download the software from this website and then transfer it on a USB stick. A printer is not necessary either; you can produce pdf files and then display them on the screen, a whiteboard, email them or put them on your Intranet/VLE. Make sure you have installed Adobe Acrobat Reader if you wish to view pdf files.
NB if you get an error message "The application failed
to initialize properly (0x00000135)", you need to install
.NET Framework 4.6
on your machine before MATHSprintDemo will run. You can download it for free from
www.microsoft.com.
• Installing the MATHSprint demo
Download MATHSprintDemo.exe from this website and save/copy into 'My Documents' or your Departmental area on the network.
You can then run MATHSprint by double-clicking on MATHSprintDemo.exe (you can also place a short cut on the Desktop).
NB You don't need Administrator privileges to install the software.
• Installing the full version of MATHSprint
Download MATHSprint5_0.exe from the link provided with your invoice (you will also need the supplied username and password).
No unpacking or special installation process is required - MATHSprint is a standalone .exe file.
Save/copy MATHSprint5_0.exe to a suitable location on your computer or network and make a desktop short cut if desired.
The first time MATHSprint is run, the user must have write access to the folder in which the .exe file is located (to set up the help file and licence code which should be entered at this point).
MATHSprint creates and saves pdf worksheets as well as worksheet template files and these are stored in the same folder as the .exe file by default. If you wish to store these files elsewhere (e.g. the user's personal area), create a file userpath.txt alongside the .exe file containing the path name of the desired location for saving user files.
• Upgrading a previous version of MATHSprint to V5.0
Download MATHSprint5_0.exe from the link provided with your invoice (you will also need the supplied username and password).
Simply save/copy MATHSprint5_0.exe in the same location as your previous version; the licence code will continue to work. However, you may need to update any short cuts.
If you decide to save/copy MATHSprint5_0.exe to a new location, you will have to re-enter your licence code (see the previous entry).
• Technical Support
If you get the message 'Can't print worksheet; it is locked by another program.', this probably means that the user does not have write access to the folder where MATHSprint is installed.
MATHSprint creates and saves pdf worksheets as well as worksheet template files and these are stored in the same folder as the .exe file by default. If you wish to store these files elsewhere (e.g. the user's personal area), create a file userpath.txt alongside the .exe file containing the path name (e.g. P:) of the desired location for saving user files.
If you have any other problems installing or running MATHSprint, please .
• What's next for MATHSprint?
We are actively developing and expanding MATHSprint in response to feedback from schools. If there's a topic you'd like to see included, simply and we'll do our very best to help. We have plenty of ideas of our own, too, so watch this space...
You can of course download any future updates for free throughout the validity of your licence.
• Can tutors and parents buy MATHSprint?
Yes! You are welcome to buy a licence via PayPal.
• Can non-NZ schools buy MATHSprint?
Yes, of course! We publish versions for United Kingdom and Australian schools.
For other countries, there will be a significant overlap with your syllabus, but do check which topics are relevant to your course.
Please use the PayPal payment option when ordering.
• How to write a worksheet generator
"The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to chance." (Robert R. Coveyou)
One fundamental problem with most simple maths worksheet generators is that they use random numbers directly to generate the values used in questions, and thus it is quite possible to have the same question occur twice in the same exercise, or even twice in a row. Anyone who has ever set up a spreadsheet to produce randomised worksheets will be familiar with this problem.
A better solution is to shuffle a list of possible values and then use them one by one. This ensures that repetitions are minimised and that there is a fair spread of questions (important if you are testing particular multiplication tables, for instance). Things then get more complicated if we wish to guard against 4x+7x being followed by 7x+4x, etc.
It is also important to generate questions that are not too easy and not too hard, and this cannot simply be left to chance. Sets of candidate numbers must be chosen with care: we want abundant numbers if it's a 'list all the factors' question, but prime denominators for simple addition of fractions without cancelling down.
Another possible pitfall concerns the presentation of questions; lazy programming leads to worksheets with questions like y=1x-4, or even worse, y=0x-4. This mistake is fairly straightforward to fix, but if you intend to generate, say, algebraic fraction problems correctly you will end up writing your own symbolic algebra manipulation code to find common denominators, expand brackets, factorise, cancel down, etc., and then display the result according to the usual conventions of printing mathematics.
Even a basic task such as creating randomised sets of simultaneous equations turns out to be non-trivial; you can't just throw in random coefficients for x and y and hope for the best, while inverse matrices and determinants only get you so far. Indeed, there is a judicious balance required between the coefficients and the values of x and y so that the total on the right of the equality is not unduly large, even after multiplication to equate coefficients (we avoid the likes of 5x + 3y = 61).
Graphics bring another level of complexity. Trigonometrical questions need to be designed so that the diagrams are nearly - but not quite - to scale so that students do not simply measure angles off the diagram rather than using the correct method. Nor do we want a set of identically-oriented diagrams; instead, throw in some rotations and reflections before printing the triangles (but don't rotate or reflect the text labelling them...) and make sure that they still fit on the page.
This starts to give some idea of why a good Maths worksheet generator is hard to develop. Here at Transfinite we have devoted sixteen years to this project; it has proved fascinating in terms of the challenges to be overcome (as hinted at above) and we have gained a huge amount of experience regarding the mathematics of generating mathematical problems and displaying their solutions. I hope you enjoy using MATHSprint, and please feel free to feed back any comments and suggestions.
Tim Price, February 2020
Transfinite Research was founded in 1997 by Dr Tim Price, a former Oxford research scientist and full-time Mathematics teacher with 25 years' experience in the classroom, in response to the lack of high-quality Maths educational software on the market. He began writing programs for his own classes; students were keen to have copies to use at home, and soon word spread to nearby schools.
In Autumn 1997, Transfinite Research launched Maths Connections, a program (sold on floppy disk!) generating random questions on-screen and giving students immediate feedback on their answers. It was received with great enthusiasm by teachers and students alike, as well as attracting critical acclaim in the TES.
Next came MATHSprint in 2004. There seemed to be plenty of websites offering basic randomised worksheets (times tables, fractions, simple algebra) but nothing covering the whole syllabus including advanced algebra, trigonometry and statistics. Moreover, the randomisation left a lot to be desired, with annoyances such as repeated questions, poor differentiation (leaping from the ridiculously easy to the far-too-difficult) and clunky presentation. Transfinite Research set out to do things properly, developing code for textbook-quality pdf generation of algebra, diagrams and graphs, as well as researching the metamathematics of question generation (see 'How to write a worksheet generator' above for a brief taster of what is involved).
MATHSprint now runs to over 30,000 lines of code and covers in excess of 1500 topic areas. It is under constant development and expansion and we welcome feedback from schools regarding further additions and improvements. Our intention is to make life easier for teachers, letting you generate unlimited customised practice questions and solutions on demand, to target with precision the needs of your students.
In recent times it has become increasingly difficult to find practice material where the answers are not easily available on the Internet. MATHSprint has turned out to provide an ideal solution to this problem since it generates new questions - not drawn from a question bank - so that students will not be tempted to take short cuts.
Transfinite Research are currently devoting more coding hours than ever to developing and extending MATHSprint, so expect to see plenty of new topics added over the coming months.
At present, teachers and students from over 400 schools across the world are benefiting from MATHSprint. Furthermore, our 58 free sample worksheets (with answers) on the TES website have had over a million downloads to date. Have a look at the sample worksheets above and download the free demo version to see how quick and easy it is to use.
Why 'Transfinite'?
Georg Cantor developed the theory of Transfinite Numbers in the nineteenth century and proved that the real numbers cannot be put into one-one correspondence with the natural numbers, thereby demonstrating the existence of more than one type of 'infinity'. The name was thus a natural choice when devising software generating an 'unlimited' variety of questions.
We offer a range of licences to suit your requirements, from a single-user Licence for one-to-one private tutors through to a School Permanent Site Licence which also allows staff to use MATHSprint at home.
Please note that no GST is payable on these prices.
per year
one-off payment
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Questions? Suggestions? Technical help?
We look forward to hearing from you!
Tel: +44 1380 813702
Fax: +44 871 314 1001
Transfinite Research
16 High Street
Market Lavington
Wiltshire SN10 4AG
UK