Welcome to the tutorial for the DEFORMS problem solving system!

The quantities in the problem can be clicked to select them. These are boxes that highlight when hovered over, and appear in both problem texts as well as the figures.

The yellow solution boxes next to each sub-part question can be clicked on to add quantities computed from the system. The "✂" icon can be clicked to clear the boxes, and "�" for a quick in-system help.

Sometimes, solution boxes may allow entry from a list of options. See the instructions for such exercises.

Once solution boxes have been populated, click on "Check Answer" to submit the answers and get feedback.

Equations are added by going to the appropriate equation palette page, clicking on the equation to be added to select it (highlighted), and then clicking on the Add button for the corresponding workspace to add it in.

• For creating arithmetic combinations of values or creating your own equations, use the Arithmetic page.
• To access equations frequently/recently used, go to the Favourites page.

Equations can be removed:

• Individually by clicking on the "✂" icon for the equations
• In groups by checking the checkbox "☐" to select it ("☑") for each equation to be deleted, and then clicking the Remove for the workspace.

Workspaces are added one below the other by clicking on the Add Workspace. They can be deleted in any order by clicking on the "✂" icon in the corner for the workspace.

Note: Deleting a workspace deletes all solutions and equations in the workspace, so this makes it ideal for creating a clean slate for a fresh start!

Values can be added to an equation's variables by clicking on a quantity in the prose (or figure) to select it and then clicking on the box in the equation where it should appear. Note: The sign of the value added can also be negated by clicking to bring up the menu and selecting "multiply by -1".

Alternatively, one could insert quantities manually into boxes as well. This is accessed by clicking on an empty box to bring up the menu, then clicking on the "insert" option to add the magnitude and quantity. This is often useful for using the system as a calculator, when used with physical quantities. Note: To work with plain numbers that aren't physical quantities (or quantities like angles and strain), select "dimensionless" for the domain and unit.

Once a quantity is added, its unit can be changed by clicking on the green-highlighted prompt for unit of the entered quantity. This brings up a list of units in the same domain as the unit of this quantity.

To solve 1 equation or a system of n>1 equations - once the system is set up to show the number of knowns and unknowns, we select ("☑") the equations by clicking on the checkbox, and then click on Solve for the corresponding workspace the equations appear in.
Note:

• Only equations in one workspace can be solved at a time.
• To solve an equation in one variable, simply leave one (or corresponding elements in case of duplication) elements in the equation blank. Note: The sign associated with a single unknown (empty variable box) can also be negated by clicking to bring up the menu and selecting "multiply by -1".

Solving equations creates solution boxes as shown. These can be selected to be entered into other equations just like quantities from the prose. To submit the value calculated as the answer for a question, click on it to select it, and then click on the submission box for the question to enter it. Note: Double clicking the box negates the magnitude of the value in the solution box.

• To create a variable association among two terms in two equations, click on any one of the empty boxes for the terms to bring up the menu, and select "start association". This highlights the start of the association. Then, click on the variable box for the second term, which will then bolden the text for the two boxes, indicating the variables have been associated.
• To create a variable association in n>2 terms, first create an association with any two of the n terms. Then, click on either of the associated terms to bring up the menu and select "add new to association". Then, repeat the process as above to select another target variable to add to the association.

Note: The sign associated with an unknown can also be negated by clicking to bring up the menu and selecting "multiply by -1".

For an unknown that appears in only one equation (i.e. an empty box), to rename this unknown, simple click on it to bring up its menu, and select "rename variables", followed by entering a variable name and/or a subscript for the variable.

For an n-way variable association, to rename this unknown variable, simple click on it to bring up its menu, and select "rename association", followed by entering a variable name and/or a subscript for the variable.

To add a subscript to all the variables in an equation to indicate the specific context that equation belongs to (eg: different materials, numerical index, etc.), click on the text template for the equation to bring up the dialog box to enter a subscript for the equation.

Number of unknowns is not equal to the number of known quantities. (shows up as a global error)

Quantities with wrong units have been entered in the wrong place in an equation. Alternatively, an entire equation might be inconsistent because of the associations created or quantities entered. Click on these errors to see where the error may have occurred.

(Not an error, but a warning) Inconsistent units were used in the system which were implicitly converted by the solver prior to computation.