diff --git a/lib/neuron.ml b/lib/neuron.ml
index b4ddae6..b3755a6 100644
--- a/lib/neuron.ml
+++ b/lib/neuron.ml
@@ -8,8 +8,9 @@ module Neuron = struct
     dependencies : t list;
   }
 
-  let data base =
-    base.data
+  let data base = base.data
+  let grad base = base.grad
+  let dependencies base = base.dependencies
 
   let create ?(op="n/a") ?(deps=[]) dt = { 
     data = dt;
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ module Neuron = struct
   let backpropagate base =
     (* we topologically sort all the connected nodes from the base node *)
     let rec sort_topologically visited resultant candidate =
-      if not (List.mem candidate visited) then
+      if not (List.memq candidate visited) then
         let visited = candidate :: visited in
         let visited, resultant =
           List.fold_left (fun (visited, resultant) dependent ->
@@ -80,4 +81,3 @@ module Neuron = struct
     (* and propagate the gradient changes *)
     List.iter (fun v -> v.backward ()) (List.rev resultant)
 end
-
diff --git a/lib/neuron.mli b/lib/neuron.mli
index f06ae7d..5cce869 100644
--- a/lib/neuron.mli
+++ b/lib/neuron.mli
@@ -4,6 +4,12 @@ module Neuron : sig
     (* getter for the data *)
     val data : t -> float
 
+    (* getter for the gradient or weight *)
+    val grad : t -> float
+
+    (* getter for the dependencies of the node *)
+    val dependencies : t -> t list
+
     (* Constructor; constructs a unit neuron of a value and an operator. *)
     val create : ?op:string -> ?deps:t list -> float -> t
 
diff --git a/smolgrad.opam b/smolgrad.opam
index b0db3a1..0953c2d 100644
--- a/smolgrad.opam
+++ b/smolgrad.opam
@@ -4,5 +4,5 @@ synopsis: "Algorithmic differentiation in OCaml"
 depends: [
   "dune"
   "ppx_jane"
-  "ounit"
+  "alcotest"
 ]
diff --git a/test/dune b/test/dune
index 5b572af..fee8fda 100644
--- a/test/dune
+++ b/test/dune
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 (test
  (name smolgrad_tests)
- (libraries ounit2 smolgrad))
+ (libraries alcotest smolgrad))
diff --git a/test/smolgrad_tests.ml b/test/smolgrad_tests.ml
index 7ee5522..a40c7a9 100644
--- a/test/smolgrad_tests.ml
+++ b/test/smolgrad_tests.ml
@@ -5,20 +5,49 @@ let test_simple_operation () =
   let b = Neuron.create 2.0 in
   
   let abba = Neuron.(a + b) in
-  assert (Neuron.data abba = 6.0);
+  Alcotest.(check (float 0.0))
+    "Nodes add up correctly"
+    6.0 (Neuron.data abba);
 ;;
 
 (* here we open the Neuron module wide open locally, thereby allowing the clean custom `+` operator usage *)
+(* we'll avoid this pattern elsewhere in the tests *)
 let test_custom_operator () =
   let open Neuron in
   let a = create 4.0 in
   let b = create 2.0 in
 
   let abba = a + b in
-  assert (Neuron.data abba = 6.0);
+  Alcotest.(check (float 0.0))
+    "Nodes add up correctly with custom operator"
+    6.0 (Neuron.data abba);
 ;;
-  
+
+let test_graph_construction () =
+  let a = Neuron.create 4.0 in
+  let b = Neuron.create 2.0 in
+  let c = Neuron.(a * b + b**3.0) in
+  let d = Neuron.(c + a) in
+
+  Alcotest.(check (list (float 0.0)))
+    "Dependency graph is constructed correctly"
+    (List.map (fun x -> Neuron.data x) [a; b]) (List.map (fun x -> Neuron.data x) (Neuron.dependencies d));
+;;
+
+let test_backpropagation () =
+  let a = Neuron.create 4.0 in
+  let b = Neuron.create 2.0 in
+  let c = Neuron.(a * b + b**3.0) in
+
+  Neuron.backpropagate c;
+  Alcotest.(check (float 0.0))
+    "Backpropagation yields correct gradient for a complex graph"
+    6.0 (Neuron.grad c);
+;;
+
 let () =
   test_simple_operation ();
   test_custom_operator ();
+  test_graph_construction ();
+  (* test_backpropagation (); *)
 ;;