GNS106 Quiz Practice Tool

A Python-based tool I built during my 100 level to extract multiple-choice questions from PDFs and practice them through an interactive quiz application. Originally created to prepare for my GNS106 exam.

Features

PDF Question Extractor (generate-json.py)

• Extracts multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions from PDF files
• Identifies correct answers marked with +++ in the source PDF
• Outputs structured JSON for easy processing
• Configurable page ranges for selective extraction
• Handles both 4-option multiple choice and single-answer formats

Interactive Quiz App (quiz_app.py)

• Practice with a customizable number of questions
• Supports both multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank formats
• Immediate feedback after each answer
• Tracks your score and missed questions
• Optional practice session for questions you got wrong
• Flexible answer matching (case-insensitive, whitespace-insensitive)

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.6 or higher
• pip (Python package manager)

Setup

1. Clone or download this repository

2. Install required dependencies:

pip install pdfplumber --break-system-packages

Usage

Extracting Questions from PDF

Basic usage with defaults (starts at page 30, outputs to gns-test.json):

python generate-json.py

Specify custom page range and files:

python generate-json.py --pdf my-exam.pdf --start 1 --end 50 --output questions.json

Command-line Options

Option	Short	Default	Description
--pdf	-p	./gns106+++.pdf	Path to the PDF file to parse
--start	-s	30	Page number to start parsing
--end	-e	None	Page number to end parsing (parses to end if not specified)
--output	-o	gns-test.json	Path for the output JSON file

PDF Format Requirements

The PDF should contain questions in this format:

Multiple-choice:

12. Who introduced the deductive method?
a. Aristotle +++
b. John Locke
c. Francis Bacon
d. René Descartes

Fill-in-the-blank:

15. What is the capital of France?
a. Paris

The +++ marker indicates the correct answer.

Running the Quiz

With default questions file (gns-pq.json):

python quiz_app.py

With a custom questions file:

python quiz_app.py questions.json

Quiz Workflow

1. You'll be prompted for how many questions you want to practice
2. Questions are randomly shuffled each time
3. Answer each question (type the letter for multiple-choice, or the full answer for fill-in)
4. Get immediate feedback on your answers
5. See your final score
6. Optionally practice the questions you missed

Example Session

Loading quiz from: gns-pq.json

How many questions would you like to practice? 5

Starting quiz with 5 questions...

Result to each question shows immediately after you answer it.

Question 1
Who introduced the deductive method?

a. Aristotle
b. John Locke
c. Francis Bacon
d. René Descartes

Type in your answer: a
Correct!

============================================================
Question 2
What is empiricism?

Type in your answer: knowledge from experience
Correct!

============================================================
...

============================================================
FINAL SCORE: 4/5 
============================================================

You missed 1 question(s).
Would you like to practice your missed questions? (yes/no): yes

Starting practice session with 1 question(s)...

Project Structure

.
├── generate-json.py      # PDF question extractor
├── quiz_app.py          # Interactive quiz application
├── gns106+++.pdf        # Source PDF (with +++ markers for answers)
├── gns-pq.json          # Extracted questions in JSON format
└── README.md            # This file

JSON Format

The extracted questions are stored in this format:

[
    {
        "question": "Who introduced the deductive method?",
        "options": [
            "a. Aristotle",
            "b. John Locke",
            "c. Francis Bacon",
            "d. René Descartes"
        ],
        "answer": "a. Aristotle +++"
    },
    {
        "question": "What is empiricism?",
        "options": " ",
        "answer": "Knowledge from experience"
    }
]

Tips for Use

1. Preparing your PDF: Mark correct answers with +++ before extraction
2. Question quality: The extractor filters out malformed questions automatically
3. Answer flexibility: The quiz app ignores case and whitespace in fill-in answers
4. Practice strategy: Use the missed questions feature to focus on weak areas
5. Random practice: Questions are shuffled each time for varied practice

Technical Details

Answer Matching

• Multiple-choice: Compares the first character (a, b, c, or d) - case insensitive
• Fill-in-the-blank: Removes all whitespace and compares case-insensitively

Regex Pattern

The extractor uses this pattern to identify questions:

PATTERN = re.compile(r"""
    (\d+[.].*?)           # Question number and text
    \n                    # Newline separator
    ([A-Da-d][.][a-zA-Z+!?. ]+\n?){1,4}  # 1-4 answer options
    """, re.DOTALL | re.VERBOSE)

Limitations

• PDF must follow the specific format (numbered questions with lettered options)
• Correct answers must be marked with +++ in the source PDF
• Best results with text-based PDFs (not scanned images)
• Questions with unusual formatting may not be extracted correctly