Instructions - the ranking system

The app has a ranking system to give you some incentive to use it and also to give you a chance to see how your skills are improving. There are separate rankings for each question, ranging through the following categories:

1. Novice
2. Freshman
3. Sophomore
4. Junior
5. Senior
6. Bachelors
7. Masters
8. Ph.D.

Each question type has its own ranking, so your rank in one does not have an impact on your ranking in any of the others. Each ranking is earned by a earning a particular score on that type of question (each question type has its own score as well). Your score goes up by a certain number of points for every question you answer correctly within the time limit. The number of points will depend on the type of question as well as your rank (e.g., you will earn more points at higher ranks and more points for some question types). The current score for that question type is displayed at the bottom of the app screen. If your score is above zero, it displays in green, and if it's below zero it is in red so that you have a visual indication of your status. At lower levels, you have more time to answer the question. As your rank increases, you have less time to answer the question if you want to earn points. If you surpass the time limit and give a correct answer your score doesn't change. if you give an incorrect answer, regardless of how long it takes you to give it, you lose points (like a correct answer the number of points will vary by question type and your rank). When you reach a certain number of points, you will earn a higher ranking and your score will reset to 0. The number of points you need to earn also increases as you go up, making it more difficult to earn those rankings. 

To prevent you from just guessing to earn ranks, for every question you answer incorrectly, you lose points. If you lose too many points, you will lose a ranking and your score resets to zero. The number of points you have to lose before you drop a rank varies by level as well.

If you are at the lowest rank for a question you cannot drop any lower, regardless of how many question you answer incorrectly, but you will get a warning if you answer too many incorrectly and your score will reset to zero.

Instructions - Achievements

As you move forward through the app, in addition to earning points that contribute to advancing in ranks, there are also "achievements" that you earn at different milestones. There are a variety of different achievements, and unlike the ranks, once you earn an achievement, you won't lose it, even if you lose points for wrong answers. When you earn an achievement, you will be notified on the screen after answering the question. It's possible to earn an increase in rank at the same time as you earn an achievement, but that isn't required. Some achievements are for specific types of question (multiple-choice vs. fill-in) while others apply regardless of question type, e.g., you get an achievement the first time you get a streak of 10 questions in a row correct, regardless of what type of question they were). You can check on your current status in terms of achievements by choosing "Achievements" on the menu. This will let you know your current values for the number of points that you've earned for each type of question (these do not reduce when you get an answer wrong) as well as your current streak of correct answers (which resets when you get one wrong). Questions that take too long do not change these values, nor do questions where you used a hint. Below those numbers you will have a listing of all the achievements you have earned, and last you'll have an indication of how many achievements are remaining to be earned (there are 37 possible).

Instructions - In-app instructions

In addition to the information on this website, there is some basic information available in the app by choosing "Instructions" from the menu. This will display a dialog box that provides information on how to use the app. Click next to next and previous to view the different screens of information and press "Done" when you are finished.

Instructions - the online help system

You can access this website directly through the app by choosing "Online help" from the menu.

Instructions - resetting your scores

If you select "Reset stats" from the menu you have can reset all the data stored by the app. This includes the number of attempts, time data, and all your rankings and achievements. Because there is no way to undo this, you will receive a warning dialog to make sure you want to reset the scores. Once you have done this, all your values are back to 0, and your rankings are all novice.

Instructions - about dialog

When you select "About..." from the menu, you get a dialog with information about the app including the version as well as the day and time it was compiled. Click OK to return to the app.

Instructions - data on your performance

After each question, the app updates the number of attempts for each type of question and how many you answered correctly. It also stores the time it took you to complete the last question of that type as well as the average time you have taken to answer those questions. These values apply to each question type separately, so when you generate a new population, the values will update to correspond to the type of question you are currently addressing.

The app also keeps track of your choice of whether or not to answer a question. If you want to skip a question, you can do so by just clicking on the "Generate Population" button again. When you do this, the question is skipped and you'll get a new one. However, there is a limit to how many questions you can skip without consequences (the number of acceptable skips decreases as you get to higher rankings). If you skip too many questions, you will start to lose points for that question type.

If you lose enough points, you can even lose a rank you earned by getting questions correct. Every time you earn a new rank, the number of questions you have skipped is forgotten. In addition, every time you get a question correct, one of your skips is "forgiven".



You can also reset the number of skips by resetting the stats, although this will reset all your stats, not just the number of skips.

Instructions - the hint system

If you click on the hint button, you will activate the app's hint system. This will walk you through the steps you need to answer the question. The system uses the numbers from the question you are being asked, so you will see the exact calculations that you need to answer the question. You can click "Done" at any point to return to the question. Once you activate the hint system, you cannot earn points for answering the question correctly, however, you still lose points for a wrong answer and skipping the question can also have impacts on your score, so be sure to read the hints carefully to make sure you read them correctly! The next and previous buttons allow you to move through the steps of solving that problem.

Instructions - Hardy-Weinberg questions

For this type of question, you'll be provided with the number of individuals for each genotype and you'll need to determine if the population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium or not. To determine this you'll need to complete a χ² test as described elsewhere on this website. For multiple-choice versions of this type of question there are only the two options available. For the fill-in questions, you still have to choose the yes or no option, but you must also provide the chi-square value you calculated that led you to your decision. 

Instructions - Allele frequency questions

 When the allele frequency type of question comes up, you'll be given the number of each genotype and use that information to calculate either the frequency of the dominant allele (p) or the recessive allele (q). See the introduction section of this website to see how to perform those calculations. For the multiple-choice questions, the app displays the number to three decimal places, so there may be some variation in your numbers if you used more or fewer. However, the results should be close enough to pick the correct choice. Also note, the answers are in random order, so you should check all the answers because it is possible to have more than one answer that is close to the correct one. For this type of question there will always be five options. If there are multiple options with the same value, you can choose any one of them - if it is the correct answer, you will receive credit regardless of which one you selected. For the fill-in question, you won't have any guidance on what the possible answer is, so you'll want to make sure your calculations are done correctly.

Instructions - genotype number questions

 When the genotype number type of question comes up, you'll be given the number of each genotype and use that information to calculate what is the expected number of individuals in one of the genotypes if the Hardy-Weinberg equation is correct (which genotype you are asked for is selected randomly). See the introduction section of this website to see how to perform those calculations. The multiple-choice question displays the number to one decimal places, so there may be some variation in your numbers if you used more or fewer. However, the results should be close enough to pick the correct choice. Also note, the answers are in random order, so you should check all the answers because it is possible to have more than one answer that is close to the correct one. For this type of question there will always be five options. If there are multiple options with the same value, you can choose any one of them - if it is the correct answer, you will receive credit regardless of which one you selected. For the fill-in question you should enter the number to one decimal place to minimize the difference between your answer and the one calculated by the app.

Instructions - genotype frequency questions

When the genotype frequency type of question comes up, you'll be given the number of each genotype and use that information to calculate the expected frequency of one of the genotypes if the Hardy-Weinberg equation is correct. See the introduction section of this website to see how to perform those calculations. The app displays the number to three decimal places, so there may be some variation in your numbers if you used more or fewer. However, the results should be close enough to pick the correct choice. Also note, the answers are in random order, so you should check all the answers because it is possible to have more than one answer that is close to the correct one. For this type of question there will always be five options. If there are multiple options with the same value, you can choose any one of them - if it is the correct answer, you will receive credit regardless of which one you selected. For the fill-in question, you should enter your answer to 3 decimal places to minimize the difference between your answer and the one calculated by the app.

Release notes

This item will list the changes that have occurred with each version of the app.

Version 3.5.0
Added instructions screens to help you get familiar with the app as quickly as possible. It is accessed from the menu under "Instructions". You can also go to the online help for more detailed information.

Version 3.4.0
Added more achievements and modified sounds that are played when you earn them as opposed to "regular" ones.

Version 3.3.0
Started adding achievements - awards that you earn for reaching certain milestones in the app.

Version 3.1.0
Updated hint system for genotype questions so that it only provides values you need to answer the questions (e.g., you don't need to know q for homozygous dominant problems).

Version 3.0.0
Added hint system. If you aren't sure how to answer a question, click the "hint" button and it will walk you thought how to do it. When you use hints, you don't get points for getting that question correct, but you can lose points if you get it wrong. Some more tweaks to the scoring system. Also included some bug fixes.

Version 2.7.1
Further modifications to the scoring system so that it isn't too hard (or too easy) to reach a new level

Version 2.7.0
Modified how values are calculated to address problem of rounding errors in calculated values for the fill-in questions. Changes to how the points are awarded and subtracted for answers for different question types. General bug fixes.

Version 2.6.1
Added a penalty for skipping questions. If you skip too many of the questions the app presents to you, you'll start losing points (eventually losing ranks if your score drops enough).
Minor changes to the way populations are generated.

Version 2.5.0
Added fill-in questions for all question types. Now you can really test your understanding of the Hardy-Weinberg equation because the new questions require you to type the actual number into the app instead of picking from a list of choices. Updated the online help system (available through the app or at h-wquiz.blogspot.com) to cover the new question types.

Version 2.0.0
Added ranking system so that you can measure your progress in a different way. Each question you get right within a certain time limit gets you a point, and a certain number of points earns a higher rank. There are 8 ranks (novice to Ph.D.) As you level up, increased levels are more difficult to obtain. Can you make Ph.D. in all four question types? I've added an online help/instruction system (available through the app or at h-wquiz.blogspot.com. Also added minor changes to the UI/UX

Version 1.9.0
Testing gamification system with rankings and points.

Version 1.6.0
Aded a new type of question. You can now be asked the expected genotype frequencies in addition to the expected number of individuals with a particular genotype.

Version 1.5.0
Settings are now saved so that you don't have to reset them each time you start up the app. This includes the statistics like # correct, etc. You can reset the stats using the "Reset" option on the menu.

Version 1.4.5
Minor tweaks in how populations are generated.

Version 1.4.0
Added settings menu so you can choose which of the different types of questions you want to be tested on. It also allows you to set whether or not the sounds play for correct and incorrect answers.

Version 1.3.0
Minor tweaks to interface for tablets. Added a new type of question. You can now be asked to determine the number of individuals in a given genotype you would expect if the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium is true.

Version 1.2.0
Added second type of question - calculating allele frequency for a given population. # correct and time data are stored separately for each type of question.

Version 1.1.0
Added display showing number of times you have been correct as well as time to answer the question and average time answering all attempts.

Version 1.0.0
Initial production version - determine if a given population is in Hardy-Weinberg or not, based on the genotype numbers you are given.

Privacy Policy

Just to clarify, this app does not collect any data on you/your phone/behavior, beyond the data on correct answers, time to answer questions, etc. Those data are stored on your phone and are not accessible to anyone else. I do  not want/need/desire any of your personal data and I have no intention of doing so in the future. If I were to make changes to this policy, I would post that here.