I have updated this article on 26 October 2020. Scroll down for new information about Circuit Diagram.
The drawing facilities of MS Word are quite amazing and can take you a long way. The more you practise and using your imagination, the better you get at drawing diagrams. The downside is that it is time-consuming and one cannot always address all situations satisfactory. This post deals with a few hints to draw diagrams in your question papers.
Shapes in MS Word
Die following diagram was done by using MS Word and it gives a good idea of what is possible.
Graphs in MS Excel
When it comes to graphs where accurate readings are important, you cannot get better than MS Excel or perhaps Google Sheets. For this, I prefer Excel. Compile the necessary values with an applicable formula and use the spreadsheet's ability to draw a graph. Copy and paste as a picture into your question paper. Here is an example of something I have done for the vertical motion of two balls.
Chemsketch
During a visit to the Maryland State Department of Education in the USA in 2005, I was introduced to Chemsketch. Since then I have introduced numerous people to this. What an amazing piece of software! It can draw the structural formulae for organic compounds and it can even give you the IUPAC name of a structure. For learners, this is very useful to practise and name their structures. Using Chemsketch to draw the following structural formula takes a fraction of the time compared to what it takes by using MS Word.
Chemsketch is available free of charge on the internet; currently from
https://www.acdlabs.com/resources/freeware/chemsketch. You can also search for Chemsketch, download, install and there you go. It is distributed by ACD Labs. Chemsketch can also be used to draw chemical apparatus, etc. It has amazing pictures of apparatus.
TinyCAD
For years, I was searching for something (free) to draw electric circuits with. I can do it with MS Word, but it is time-consuming. A few years ago I found TinyCAD at https://sourceforge.net/ and this helps me to rather quickly draw something like this.
Chemix
From the above, I was basically covered with diagrams although I wanted to have something else to draw chemistry equipment with too. Then I discovered Chemix at https://chemix.org/. It is an online drawing app to draw test-tubes, flasks, etc. You can save your drawings online or just copy and paste a drawing to your question paper (I like to use the snipping tool of Windows). Here is something I have put together as an example.
I am missing something here and there, but the speed and easiness getting a diagram done is a huge bonus. Anything that I need extra is done by MS Word; don't forget about the apparatus in Chemsketch as well. All these facilities can complement one another when you use them together.
Circuit Diagram
Since I wrote this article in December 2018, I found another online app to draw electric circuit diagrams. It is called Circuit Diagram and is available at https://www.circuit-diagram.org/editor/. It is also easy to use. You can create a profile, save your diagrams for future use, and you can download them your circuits as png or svg images. As with TinyCAD, I draw certain parts of the diagram with this app, but I prefer to draw things like voltmeters and ammeters with MS Word in order to use more descriptive labels when needed. Here is something I have done with Circuit Diagram.
I trust you find this helpful. If you know of useful software to help us in our work as physical and technical science teachers, let me know. Send an email; look at the top left of the home page for detail.
