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How Lapmin answers

Students do the work themselves

General-purpose AI can complete a school assignment for a student. Lapmin provides the facts needed and helps with maths or writing so that the student takes the next step themselves.

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A student asks Lapmin what 7 × 13 is. Lapmin suggests that the student split 13 into 10 and 3, calculate 7 × 10 and 7 × 3, then combine the results. It starts by asking what 7 × 10 is.

  • Lapmin answers factual questions and explains concepts directly. Students can get an immediate answer about why a rainbow curves or what a carried digit means.

  • After a mistake, Lapmin identifies the step to check. When a student answers 9 for the tens column in 47 + 38, Lapmin asks them to recalculate that column because 9 is not correct.

  • Students write the text they submit. When a student sends Lapmin a draft, it points out what already works and suggests improvements.

Read the study comparing hints with complete answers

Source: Bastani et al. 2025, PNAS · nearly 1,000 students, mathematics

Step-⁠by-⁠step maths in a column grid

Lapmin displays a column calculation in a grid and checks the step the student has worked out. When that step is correct, the answer boxes fill in.

Why this way. Finland’s national core curriculum for basic education gives guiding questions as an example of supporting mathematical work when students demonstrate what they know. It includes algorithms for addition, subtraction and multiplication in grades 3–6.

Read the source

Source: Finnish National Core Curriculum for Basic Education 2014, mathematics, grades 3–6

How the column grid fills in

  1. 1

    The student enters a calculation

    A student asks, for example, what 47 + 38 is. Lapmin draws a grid below its reply and asks for the sum of the ones first. The answer boxes are empty, and the current column is highlighted.

    A student asks what 47 + 38 is. Lapmin suggests starting with the ones and asks what 7 + 8 equals. A grid below shows 47 above 38, empty answer boxes and the highlighted ones column.
  2. 2

    The correct digit appears in the grid

    The student’s answer, 5, appears in the ones box, with a carried 1 above the tens. The tens column is highlighted next.

    The student has answered 5. Lapmin confirms it is correct in the ones column and asks what 4 + 3 + 1 equals. The grid shows 47 above 38, the entered 5, a carried 1 above the tens and the highlighted tens column.
  3. 3

    The student completes the calculation

    Once the tens are correct too, the grid shows the student’s own answer, 85. Lapmin confirms that the calculation is solved.

    The student has answered 8. Lapmin confirms the tens and says 47 + 38 is solved. The grid shows a carried 1 above the tens and 85 on the answer line.

The grid shows carried digits and partial products

With a multi-digit multiplier, each digit has its own partial-product row. The partial products are then added. A carried digit appears as a small number above its column.

A column grid for 34 × 26. The first partial product, 204, is entered, with a carried 2 above the tens. The second partial-product row is highlighted; its answer boxes and the boxes for the final product are empty.
A column multiplication in progress. The calculation is an example.

When does Lapmin draw the column grid?

Lapmin draws the grid when a student asks to work in columns. Without that request, it appears for addition or subtraction involving a carried digit, borrowing or regrouping, and for multiplication with a product of at least 200.

For addition and subtraction, classes in grades 1–6 get the grid with two-digit numbers; classes in grades 7–9 get it with three-digit numbers. There is no division grid yet.

Questions help students plan an essay

A student asks for help planning an essay about the fall of the Roman Empire. Lapmin gives brief background and asks about the essay’s beginning, middle and end. It then asks which question the student will answer first.

Students write what they have learned in their own words. Lapmin’s replies cannot be copied.

A student asks for help planning an essay on the fall of the Roman Empire. Lapmin mentions several causes and the split of the empire’s lands into smaller states. Its reply includes a numbered source, questions about the essay’s beginning, middle and end, and a question about which of them to answer first.
The student view. The question is an example; the reply is Lapmin’s own.

Students can find earlier questions and answers in Notes

Students choose which answers are worth keeping. Teachers cannot open students’ Notes from the teacher view. These remain in each student’s own view, even while the teacher follows the lesson’s flags.

How an answer moves into Notes

  1. 1

    The answer has a drag handle

    When an answer has a key idea, a handle appears at the top so the student can save it.

    A student’s question about the difference between a meteor and a meteorite, followed by the start of Lapmin’s answer. A drag handle appears at the right end of the answer’s top row, beside Lapmin’s name.
  2. 2

    The student saves the answer

    The student can drag it to the “Notes” button in the top-right corner, or open “Notes” and choose “Add”. The saved card opens in the Notes view.

    The student drags the answer by its handle. A card with the key idea about a meteor and meteorite moves towards the “Drop in Notes” button; the answer behind it fades.The same card moves towards the “Drop” button in the phone view. The answer behind it fades.
  3. 3

    The student writes a comment

    The “Comment” button opens a field on the card for the student’s own words.

    A saved note shows the source Asteroid Fast Facts – NASA and an open “Comment” field. The student has written “Meteor in the sky, meteorite on the ground!”. “Saved” appears above the field and a “Done” button below it.

Frequently asked questions about answers and maths

What if a student keeps asking for the complete answer?

Lapmin does not give the final result of a task, even when asked repeatedly. Its hints become more specific when the student tries for themselves. If a student repeatedly asks for help on the same topic without making an attempt, they appear in the teacher’s “Needs you” list, and the teacher can open the conversation.

How can a student get a different explanation?

The student sends Lapmin a message asking for a simpler explanation or an example.

Can a student send a picture of a task?

Lapmin cannot read images. The student writes out the task in words and numbers in a message.

What does a screen reader say about the maths grid?

It reads one short description covering the calculation, the digits the student has already worked out and what remains.

Can a student return from Notes to the conversation after the lesson?

The lesson’s conversations are deleted when it ends and cannot be reopened. An answer saved in Notes remains until the student deletes the note.

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