Misconception: Students think that “return x*x” changes the value of x to be x*x. Next Students think that the mathematical function that executes on the return line results in a change to the variable's value that will be saved for later use. Other Tips By Other Tips By Juha Sorva Juha Sorva Tags Content Misconceptions CS 1 Intro Programming External Source "Exploring programming misconceptions: an analysis of student mistakes in visual program simulation exercises" by Teemu Sirkiä and Juha Sorva.