ORDER OF OPERATIONS: Problem 1

Rule 21:: Expressions in parenthesis are treated as one number and must be calculate first.

Problem 1: Calculate .

Answer: The answer is 3.

Solution:: Since there parenthesis in the problem. Work from left to right. The parenthesis can be simplified to - 2. The problem
can now be written .
The remaining parenthesis contains multiplication and subtraction. Complete the multiplication first. can be modified to . The problem can now be written as which in turn can be simplified to 3+(-4)+4=3.

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Author: Nancy Marcus