This reminds of my first chemistry class in high school. Everything in the beginning seemed so trivial that I tended to not pay attention at all. I had my own methods for various things (including stoichiometry like you).<p>Then the first test came. I seemingly had no problem with it. A few days later, the tests were returned. Everyone got theirs back except for me. I was summoned to the front of the room and the teacher asked me to explain how I did things. We went over the first problem, she understood my explanation. The second, same thing. I was continuing my explanations and she cut me off--&quot;Forget it; I trust you.&quot; She flipped the paper over and wrote 100 on it and gave it to me.<p>Boy did that make me never want to do any work in that class again. Apparently I and the eventual valedictorian of our class were real pains in the asses to her. We were &quot;punished&quot; by being given a box of magazines (Scientific American, etc.) and told to sit in the back of the room and not talk.<p>I apologize, Ms. M., for being nuissance, but I think this was a fair treatment rather than being scolded for having my own ways of doing things.