diff --git a/.idea/vcs.xml b/.idea/vcs.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..35eb1dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.idea/vcs.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project version="4">
+  <component name="VcsDirectoryMappings">
+    <mapping directory="" vcs="Git" />
+  </component>
+</project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e759bf3..bcc617c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
     * Is the **blank** object mutable or immutable? How can you tell?
 
 ```text
-PUT ANSWER TO #2 HERE
+blank is mutable
 ```
 
 ```java
@@ -47,7 +47,8 @@ public class Puzzler {
     * Explain how the return values from #3 and #4 differ.
 
 ```text
-PUT ANSWER TO #5 HERE
+findCenter returns a 'Point' object that represents the center of the provided 'Rectangle' object. It also calcualtes the center coordinates and returns a new 'Point' object.
+distance method returns a 'double' that represents the distance between two 'Point' objects. Calculates distance and returns distance as a 'double' value. 
 ```
 
 ```java
@@ -87,14 +88,15 @@ Recall that aliases are two variables that refer to the same object.
     * Put the output in the text block below
 
 ```text
-PUT ANSWER TO #2 HERE
+(5, 8)
+(6, 9)
 ```
 
 3. At the end of main, are p1 and p2 aliased? Why or why not?
     * Put your answer in the text block below
 
 ```text
-PUT ANSWER TO #3 HERE
+even though p1 and p2 both represent points at the center of rectangles, they refer to different Point objects in memory so there is no aliasing between p1 and p2. 
 ```
 
 ```java
@@ -142,6 +144,7 @@ for (int i = 0; i < s.length(); i++) {
     * Screenshot your output and add it to your project as Part3_2.jpg
 3. Generalize the code so that it works on any string.
     * What could you do to generalize it more?
+    * I could incorporate other types of brackets or delimiters besides parentheses
 
 ## Part 4: Large Numbers
 
diff --git a/src/BigIntRewrite.java b/src/BigIntRewrite.java
index 8f0dfce..8ea2496 100644
--- a/src/BigIntRewrite.java
+++ b/src/BigIntRewrite.java
@@ -1,5 +1,26 @@
+import java.math.BigInteger;
+
 public class BigIntRewrite {
+    public static BigInteger pow(int x, int n) {
+        if (n == 0) return BigInteger.ONE;
+
+        BigInteger bigX = BigInteger.valueOf(x);
+        BigInteger t = pow(x, n / 2);
+
+        if (n % 2 == 0) {
+            return t.multiply(t);
+        } else {
+            return t.multiply(t).multiply(bigX);
+        }
+
+    }
+
     public static void main(String[] args) {
+        int base = 2;
+        int exponent = 10;
+        BigInteger result = pow(base, exponent);
+        System.out.println(base + " raised to the power of " + exponent + " is: " + result);
+
 
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Part1_2.jpg b/src/Part1_2.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4c46606
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/Part1_2.jpg differ
diff --git a/src/Part1_3.jpg b/src/Part1_3.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce97fc7
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/Part1_3.jpg differ
diff --git a/src/Part1_4.jpg b/src/Part1_4.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..832765b
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/Part1_4.jpg differ
diff --git a/src/Part2_1.jpg b/src/Part2_1.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1e268f2
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/Part2_1.jpg differ
diff --git a/src/Part3_2.jpg b/src/Part3_2.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59f874a
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/Part3_2.jpg differ
diff --git a/src/StringPlayground.java b/src/StringPlayground.java
index a930a71..b91e735 100644
--- a/src/StringPlayground.java
+++ b/src/StringPlayground.java
@@ -1,4 +1,28 @@
 public class StringPlayground {
+    public static int countParentheses(String s) {
+        int count = 0;
+        for (int i = 0; i < s.length(); i++) {
+            char c = s.charAt(i);
+            if (c == '(') {
+                count++;
+            } else if (c == ')') {
+                count--;
+            }
+        }
+        return count;
+    }
     public static void main(String[] args) {
+        String[] testStrings = {
+                "((3 + 7) * 2)",
+                "((3 + 7) * 2",
+                "()",
+                "(()))"
+        };
+
+        for (String testString : testStrings) {
+            int result = countParentheses(testString);
+            System.out.println("Count for \"" + testString + "\": " + result);
+
+        }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file