Responsibly Used

1. “Responsibly used.” Meaning: A manual cannot offer the “give and take” that is offered through human to human exchange. you may come to a better understanding if you make an effort to do so in a more traditional way.
2. You should use a solution manual in three situations. You should use a manual If you don’t know how to begin a problem by covering up the end of the solution and seeing how the manual starts the problem. You should use a manual when you get stuck by reading up to the point you are at in the problem and return to personal work when you have figured out how to tackle the problem. Finally, when you have completed the problem, you should compare to the manual’s problem from beginning to end.
3. In the event that you cannot solve a problem, it is likely because you either do not know how to start tackling the problem or it is because you have reached a point where you cannot move on to the next step. In these situations you can check how the manual starts the problem and if you are stuck, you can review the manual’s solution to find where you made a mistake or where you became stuck.
4. Even if you have solved a problem correctly, when you compare your solution with that in the manual, you can find alternate ways to solve the problem and possibly develop a better understanding.
5. A way to abuse the manual is by using only the manual to solve the problem step by step and never using your own thought process. You will never comprehend how to solve problems if the manual always does it for you.
6. No textbook is designed specifically for each student so a different book may be more useful for the student.  It is also helpful to use another textbook because it will help you comprehend the material. There is no telling how the professor will ask problems on the exams so having more knowledge can only help.
7. I have never used homework online for mathematics. I can only imagine that I would not like it because I enjoy to write out my equations so I can map out my thought process and easily identify errors or simply remember how I did my work.

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