Why MyMathLab marks a right answer wrong, and how to fix it
Most of the time your math is right and the form is not. Pearson tells students to make sure a math answer is "fully simplified". Rounding too early, a decimal where an exact fraction is wanted, the wrong interval bracket and symbols typed as plain text are the other usual causes. You usually get three tries per step, and then MyLab shows the correct answer.
- Simplify fully: 3/4, not 6/8; 4√2, not 2√8.
- Round once, at the end, to the places the question asks for.
- Exact or decimal: give the form the question asks for.
- Use the math palette or the shortcuts below for roots, exponents and symbols.
- Tries: usually three per step; Similar Exercise gives new values, and your most recent attempt counts.
Our pickWant to see the expected answer before you spend a try? Canvas Quiz Solver shows the answer under each MyLab homework question (beta), and you type it yourself. It stays off on tests and quizzes.
Why a right answer gets marked wrong
MyLab checks the answer you type against the form the question expects. Pearson's own homework help says: "For math questions, make sure that your answer is fully simplified" (Do homework). These are the usual reasons a correct result still gets the red mark, and the fix for each. The examples use made-up numbers.
| Cause | What it looks like | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Not fully simplified | 6/8, 2√8, or (x² − 1)/(x − 1) left as is | Reduce and simplify: 3/4, 4√2, x + 1 (with x ≠ 1 if the question asks) |
| Rounded too early | Rounding each step, so the last digit is off: 1.27 instead of 1.26 | Keep every digit until the end, then round once |
| Wrong number of places | 0.0358 when the question says three decimal places | Read the rounding line in the question: 0.036 |
| Decimal for an exact answer | 0.333 when the question wants an exact answer or a simplified fraction | Type 1/3 with the fraction template |
| Wrong bracket | [2, 5] when 5 is not included | A round bracket leaves the endpoint out: [2, 5); infinity always gets a round bracket |
| Symbol typed as text | sqrt(8) or x2 typed as plain characters | Use the math palette or a shortcut, so the root or exponent is a real template |
| Extra characters | A unit, a dollar sign or "x =" typed when the box only wants the number | Look at what is printed around the box and type only what is missing |
The first rule is Pearson's. The rest are the general rules of typed math answers; your question's own instructions always win.
How to type symbols in MyMathLab
In most courses the math palette opens when you click inside the answer box, with templates for fractions, roots and other forms (Enter answers in math courses). You can also type shortcuts. Pearson's list of keyboard shortcuts includes these (Use keyboard shortcuts):
| Symbol | Type this | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Fraction | / |
Type the top, a slash, then the bottom, for example 2/3 |
| Exponent (superscript) | Shift + up arrow |
Opens a small box for the exponent |
| Subscript | Shift + down arrow |
Opens a small box below the line |
| Square root | \sqrt |
Opens a root template |
| nth root | \nrt |
Opens a root template with a box for n |
| Absolute value | \abs |
Opens | | |
| ≤ and ≥ | <= and >= |
Two keys each |
| ≠ (not equal) | <> |
Left and right angle signs |
| ∞ (infinity) | \inf |
|
| ∪ and ∩ (union, intersection) | \cup and \cap |
|
| ∅ (empty set) | \empty |
|
| π, μ, σ | \pi, \mu, \sigma |
Greek letters by name |
| x̄ and p̂ (bar and hat) | \bar and \hat |
Opens a template with a box |
| × and ÷ | \times and \divide |
* gives a multiplication dot |
From Pearson's MyLab help, "Use keyboard shortcuts". Copy and paste work with Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V in the player.
For a mixed number such as 2 1/3, use the mixed fraction template in the palette: the whole number goes in the left box, the numerator and denominator in the boxes on the right. After an exponent or a root, move the cursor out of the small box before you type the rest, or the rest ends up inside it.
Attempts, Similar Exercise and seeing the correct answer
Pearson's help explains how tries work on homework (Do homework):
- Usually three tries per step. A question is complete when you answer correctly or use the tries allowed. Before your last try, Check Answer changes to Final Check.
- Then the answer. "If your answer was incorrect, you see the correct answer." Hold the mouse over the red triangle in the answer box to see what you typed.
- Similar Exercise. After you check, Similar Exercise or Try Again gives the same question with different values, and "your score on the question (correct or incorrect) is determined by your most recent attempt". It does not appear when your instructor limits attempts and you have used them.
- Review. On saved homework, review mode shows the correct answer in the answer box, and changes there do not affect your score (Review homework).
If you still think MyLab is wrong, Question Help has an Ask My Instructor button that emails your instructor with a link straight to the question (Get help on a question). Tests and quizzes work differently: in test mode you cannot check your answers (Answer in the MyLab Player).
See the expected answer before you spend a try
The cheapest fix is knowing the expected answer and its form before you click Check Answer. Canvas Quiz Solver reads the MyLab question on your screen, including lines like "round to two decimal places", and shows the answer under it.
How it works on Pearson MyLab, in 3 steps:
- Add Canvas Quiz Solver to Chrome on your laptop. It is the same extension Canvas students use.
- Open your MyLab homework, click the extension icon and tap "Turn on for Pearson". You do this once, and you allow the Chrome prompt.
- Read the answer card under the question, then type the answer into the MyLab answer box, or pick the choice, and click Check Answer yourself.
Off on MyLab tests and quizzes and on LockDown Browser and Respondus pages. It types nothing into MyLab: you enter every answer.
It works on MyLab Math, MyLab Statistics and MathXL homework, in beta, and it is off on tests and quizzes. Graphing questions and StatCrunch are not supported yet. Answers come from AI and can be wrong, so compare the answer with what the question asks before you type it. Statistics homework has its own page: MyLab Statistics answers. More on the Pearson MyLab answers page.
Sources we checked
- Do homework (Pearson MyLab student help), checked 2026-10-25
- Enter answers in math courses (Pearson MyLab student help), checked 2026-10-25
- Use keyboard shortcuts (Pearson MyLab student help), checked 2026-10-25
- Review homework (Pearson MyLab student help), checked 2026-10-25
- Get help on a question (Pearson MyLab student help), checked 2026-10-25
- Answer in the MyLab Player (Pearson MyLab student help), checked 2026-10-25
Common questions
Why does MyMathLab say my answer is wrong when it is right?
Usually the math is right and the form is not. The common causes are an answer that is not fully simplified, rounding too early or to the wrong place, a decimal where an exact fraction is asked for, the wrong bracket in an interval, and a symbol typed as plain text instead of with the math palette.
How many attempts do you get on MyLab homework?
Usually three for each step, but your instructor sets it. Before your last try, the Check Answer button changes to Final Check. When you have used your tries, MyLab shows the correct answer.
How do I see the correct answer on Pearson MyLab?
After your last try on a homework question, MyLab shows the correct answer. When you review saved homework, the player shows the correct answer in the answer box, and you can see your own answer by holding the mouse over the red triangle.
How do I type a square root in MyMathLab?
Click inside the answer box to open the math palette and pick the square root template, or type \sqrt. For an nth root, type \nrt.
How do I type an exponent in MyMathLab?
Press Shift and the up arrow to open a superscript box, type the exponent, then move back out of the box. The math palette has the same template.
How do I type infinity, union or the empty set in MyMathLab?
Type \inf for infinity, \cup for union, \cap for intersection and \empty for the empty set. The math palette has them too.
Does Similar Exercise change my score?
It can. Pearson says your score on a question is decided by your most recent attempt, and Similar Exercise gives you the same question with new values. It does not appear when your instructor limits attempts and you have used them all.
The MyLab answer, and its form, before you check
The answer shows under the question you are on. You type it, you submit it. Start free.