Table of Contents

• Overview
• Interface Specification
• Output Format (Show Your Work)
• Acceptance Tests
• Tools
• Getting Started
• Feedback
• Completion
• Badge Submission Instructions
• Phases
  • Phase 1: Basic Arithmetic
  • Phase 2: Algebraic & Transcendental Functions
  • Phase 3: Graphing
  • Phase 4: Algebraic Simplification
  • Phase 5: AI-generated Explanation
• Vibe Coding: Beyond the Challenge

Math Quest: AI-Powered Calculator

Overview

Build a command-line calculator that can:

• Phase 1: Perform basic arithmetic (add, subtract, multiply, divide)
• Phase 2: Evaluate algebraic expressions (ln, sin, etc.)
• Phase 3: Graph expressions (output data points or ASCII plot for a given range)
• Phase 3: Simplify algebraic expressions
• Phase 5: AI-powered explanations (output a step-by-step explanation for the calculation)

You may use any programming language.

Interface Specification

Your calculator must be executable from the command line as follows:

calculator "<expression>"

• Replace calculator with your program's name or script.
• The program should print the result to standard output.

Output Format (Show Your Work)

To support both human-friendly explanations and ease of debugging, your calculator may output any intermediate steps or explanations as desired, but the final result must always be printed on a line by itself, prefixed with RESULT: (with a single space after the colon).

The tests and tools will only consider the value after RESULT: as the answer. All results should be output with up to 6 decimal places (rounded, not truncated).

This allows the test scripts to reliably extract the actual result, while users (and YOU) can see the full calculation process.

Example:

calculator "2 + 3 * (4 - 1)"

Possible output:

Step 1: 4 - 1 = 3
Step 2: 3 * 3 = 9
Step 3: 2 + 9 = 11
RESULT: 11

Acceptance Tests

Acceptance tests are provided as shell scripts in the tests/ folder. Each script will:

• Run your calculator on a set of problems for the phase.
• Extract the result from the line starting with RESULT:.
• If all tests pass, the script will reveal a secret phrase for that phase.

The challenge is designed so that only a working calculator implementation can reveal the phrase. However, if you're feeling adventurous, you might use AI to help you extract the secret phrases by reverse engineering the test collateral...

Tools

• Use GitHub Copilot (all modes), MCP server, Cline, Roo, Rubber Ducky as desired.

Getting Started

1. Clone this repository to your local machine.
2. Implement your calculator in the language of your choice.
3. Make sure your calculator can handle all required math expressions for a given phase.
4. Run the test scripts in the tests/ folder, passing the path to your calculator as the first argument.
5. Good luck and HAVE FUN!

Feedback

We value your input! If you encounter situations where the AI tooling excels or falls short—whether it’s generating code, interpreting requirements, or assisting with the challenge—please let us know. Your feedback will help to improve the experience for everyone.

Share your feedback in the meeting chat, or email your comments to akubly@microsoft.com with the subject "Math Quest: AI Tooling Feedback". Let us know what worked well, what didn’t, and any suggestions for future improvements. Thank you for helping us make this challenge better!

If you get stuck, please ask for assistance!

Completion

To complete the challenge, you need to:

1. Using AI tools, implement as many features as you can in your calculator.
2. Pass the corresponding acceptance tests in the tests/ folder.
3. Collect the secret phrase revealed for each phase.

Badge Submission Instructions

To claim your completion reward, send an email to akubly@microsoft.com with the secret phrase(s) you were able to collect from the test scripts.

• You may submit as many phrases as you were able to reveal.
• Each phrase corresponds to a completed phase of the challenge.

Once your submission is verified, you will receive your badge.

Phases

Phase 1: Basic Arithmetic

Your calculator should support:

• Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, with correct operator precedence.

  calculator "2 + 3 * 4"
  

  Expected output:

  RESULT: 14
  

Calculator Output Precision Requirement:

• All results must be output to at most 6 decimal places (rounded, not truncated), and must appear after RESULT:. Example: 2.7182818... => RESULT: 2.718282

---

Phase 2: Algebraic & Transcendental Functions

Your calculator should support:

• Parentheses and exponentiation (^)

• Polynomials in one variable (e.g., x^2 + 2*x + 1)

• Exponential and logarithmic functions: e^x, log (base 10), and ln (natural logarithm)

• Trigonometric functions: sin, cos, tan, asin, acos, atan (all in radians)

  calculator "sin(pi/2) + log(100) + e^1"
  

  Expected output:

  RESULT: 4.718282
  

---

Phase 3: Graphing

Your calculator should support:

• Outputting a table of (x, y) pairs for a given expression and range, suitable for graphing

• Optionally, generate a CSV file or plot directly using a helper script

  calculator "table(x^2 - 2*x + 1, x, -2, 2, 1)"
  

  Expected output:

  x,y
  -2,9
  -1,4
  0,1
  1,0
  2,1
  

---

Phase 4: Algebraic Simplification

Your calculator should support:

• Full algebraic simplification of expressions, including:

  • Combining like terms (e.g., x + x → 2*x)
  • Expanding and factoring polynomials
  • Rational expression simplification (e.g., (x^2 - 1)/(x - 1) → x + 1)
  • Canonical output formatting (e.g., x + -1 → x - 1)

  calculator "(x^2 - 1)/(x - 1)"
  

  Expected output:

  RESULT: x + 1
  

---

Phase 5: AI-generated Explanation

Your calculator should support:

• Outputting a step-by-step explanation of the calculation or simplification process, in addition to the final result

  calculator "explain (x + 1)^2"
  

  Possible output:

  Step 1: Expand (x + 1)^2 = x^2 + 2*x + 1
  RESULT: x^2 + 2*x + 1
  

Vibe Coding: Beyond the Challenge

Congratulations on making it this far! As you wrap up your Math Quest, take a moment to reflect on the creative energy and curiosity that may have inspired you to keep building, tweaking, and exploring new features. This is the essence of vibe coding—letting your imagination and enthusiasm guide you beyond the requirements, just for the joy of making something even cooler.

If you find yourself thinking, “What if I added just one more feature?”—embrace it! Here are some ideas for where you could take your calculator next:

• Imaginary & Complex Numbers: Add support for calculations with imaginary and complex numbers (e.g., i, a + bi).
• Linear Algebra: Support for vectors, matrices, and operations like dot product, cross product, and matrix inversion.
• Equation Solving: Implement solvers for linear, quadratic, or even general equations.
• Configurable Precision & Formatting: Let users choose the number of decimal places, output format, or even switch between scientific and standard notation.
• Friendly User Experience: Add color, prompts, or even a simple GUI for easier interaction.
• Plotting Enhancements: Add support for 3D plots, multiple curves, or interactive graphing.
• Curve Fitting & Regression: Fit polynomials or other functions to data points, and output best-fit parameters.
• Symbolic Computation: Expand to handle symbolic integration, differentiation, or simplification.
• Unit Conversion: Allow calculations with units (e.g., degrees, meters, seconds) and automatic conversion.
• History & Undo: Keep a history of calculations and allow users to undo or revisit previous steps.
• Localization: Support multiple languages or regional number formats.

Remember, the best projects are the ones you enjoy working on. Whether you stop here or keep going, take pride in what you’ve built—and keep that vibe coding spirit alive!