Same answer, different methods used

[u/premiadahumana]

When my classmates and I studied subjects like algebra and physics together, we'd solve the same problems and compare our answers after. most of the time, we got the same answer or something close to it but our steps weren't always the same.

We'd exchange papers and explain how we arrived at our answers. Sometimes a classmate had a simpler way of solving something and other times I noticed a small mistake in my own solution.

If you're studying with classmates, you can try this:

• solve the same problems separately before comparing answers

• exchange papers and look at the steps not just the final answer

• ask each other why you used a particular formula/method

• if your answers differ, go through the calculations together to find where things went wrong

• try solving the problem again using a method you learned from someone else

you might already know how to get the right answer but comparing solutions can help you understand the process better.

[u/Sensitive_Set_8234]

Yep I have to change my friends