# Knowledge Check: Branching and Merging

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**1. What is a branch, really?**

*Answer:* A movable pointer to a specific commit — not a copy of the whole project, just a
reference letting you develop independently from other branches.

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**2. Why does a merge conflict happen?**

*Answer:* Both branches changed the SAME lines of the SAME file differently, and Git can't
safely guess which version you actually want — so it stops and asks you to decide.

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**3. Is a merge conflict a sign something went wrong?**

*Answer:* No — it's Git correctly refusing to silently guess at a decision only a human should
make. It's a normal, expected part of collaborative work.

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**4. After resolving a conflict by editing the file, what two steps complete the merge?**

*Answer:* Stage the resolved file (`git add`) and commit (`git commit`) — exactly like
completing any other commit, once the conflict markers are gone.

## Instructor Notes

**Facilitation:** Question 3 is worth stating explicitly and repeating — reframing conflicts
as normal, not scary, meaningfully changes how confidently students approach this module's Lab.

**Approximate timing:** 5 minutes.