It is best remembered by its acronym - BIDMAS (UK) or PEMDAS (US).
B = Brackets (P = Parentheses)
I = Index )E = Exponent)
DM (MD) = Division and Multiplication, with equal priority, left to right.
AS = Addition and Subtraction, with equal priority, left to right.
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The order of operations is PEMDAS: Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction. The phrase "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" is often used to help remember the order.
The order of operations defines, in the absence of parentheses, the order in which binary operations in arithmetic (or algebra) may be carried out. If it were not used, most expressions with more than one kind of operation would have more than one answers. Alternatively, each expression would have to have a parentheses to indicate the Order of Operations and that would make expressions more difficult to read. eg 2+3*5 = 2+15 = 17 (following Order of Ops), but 2+3*5 = 5*5 = 25 (NOT following Order of Ops).
Many expressions involve two or more operations. When simplifying such expressions, it is important to perform the operations in the following order:1. Perform any operation(s) within group symbols, which are:a. parentheses ( )b. brackets [ ]c. braces { }d. fraction bar /e. absolute-values bar | |f. radical sign2. Simplify all powers.3. Multiply and divide in order from left to right.4. Add and subtract in order from left to right.If you don't follow this order of operations, you will find a wrong answer.
Simplifying an expression is getting rid of any brackets or parentheses, performing as many operations as you can - including combining like terms. To evaluate an expression you would substitute the numerical values of all the variables, carry out all the operations (addition, multiplication etc) in the expression to reach the answer - the numerical value of the expression.
Because if you did operations in an impermissible order, or violated laws of operations, then your solution to the equation is wrong.