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PEMDAS and The Order of Operations

This document discusses the order of operations, known as PEMDAS, that is used to evaluate mathematical expressions. It explains that PEMDAS stands for Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction and defines the hierarchy. Expressions within parentheses must be solved first, followed by exponents, then multiplication and division from left to right, and finally addition and subtraction from left to right. The document uses examples to illustrate how to apply PEMDAS to ensure expressions are evaluated correctly.

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Federation NORSU Alumni
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184 views

PEMDAS and The Order of Operations

This document discusses the order of operations, known as PEMDAS, that is used to evaluate mathematical expressions. It explains that PEMDAS stands for Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction and defines the hierarchy. Expressions within parentheses must be solved first, followed by exponents, then multiplication and division from left to right, and finally addition and subtraction from left to right. The document uses examples to illustrate how to apply PEMDAS to ensure expressions are evaluated correctly.

Uploaded by

Federation NORSU Alumni
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PEMDAS and the order of operations

Memes involving ambiguous mathematical equations have become a common


sight on Facebook news feeds everywhere. You've probably seen them -
commonly featuring a mixture of additions, subtractions, multiplications and
divisions and baiting you that "90%" of people get the answers wrong.

What these memes rely on is the human desire to be part of the superior minority that know the
correct answer. As you'll discover, however, most people get the answers wrong (assuming there is
actually a correct answer, of course).

In 2012, Dr Peter Price of the Classroom Professor website decided to try an experiment and
posted the following mathematical question on his Facebook page:

Memes involving ambiguous mathematical equations have become a common


sight on Facebook news feeds everywhere. You've probably seen them -
commonly featuring a mixture of additions, subtractions, multiplications and
divisions and baiting you that "90%" of people get the answers wrong.

The post quickly gained popularity and spread. Over 70,000 people ended up seeing it and 6,000
people responded with answers. The question was left up for 2 weeks before answers were
collated. Having examined the results, Peter was surprised to find that only 26% of respondents
gave the correct answer (see the article here). The correct answer is 8.

So, what does this say about the mathematical education of the population as a whole? Well, it
could be suggested that a large majority of people around the world don't understand the concept
of PEMDAS and the order of operations.
In order to help teach the order of operations, I have put this article together. With the help of Nick
Valentine, we will take you gently through the world of PEMDAS.

PEMDAS and sequencing sums


One of the trickiest aspects of maths is to know in what order to perform operations within complex
sums. In this article, we will show how to navigate the order of operations, also known as
PEMDAS.

In arithmetic, there are two types of components: the numbers themselves and the operators (also
called operations) that tell you what to do with those numbers.

So, in the sum 6 x 2 + 8 there are three numbers; 6, 2 and 8 and two operators, a multiplication (x)
and an addition (+).

You can also see that this sum can produce two different answers depending on which order you
use the operators.

If you multiply six by two and add eight, the answer is 20.
But if you multiply six by the sum of two and eight (ten), the answer comes out at 60.

So, how do you know in what order to proceed? Trained mathematicians know that there is a
definite hierarchy of operations and a default order for performing basic arithmetical operations:
adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing).

PEMDAS or BODMAS
The definitive order of operations is summed up in the acronym PEMDAS, which stands for
Parenthesis, Exponent, Multiply, Divide, Add, Subtract. It would be easier if PEMDAS was
recognised worldwide, but unfortunately it isn’t.

Some think of PIDMAS (Parenthesis, Index, Divide, Multiply, Add, Subtract) while in the UK it’s
normally called BODMAS (Brackets, Order, Divide, Multiply, Add, Subtract) or BIDMAS (Brackets,
Index, Divide, Multiply, Add, Subtract). Canadians sit in the middle with BEMDAS (Brackets,
Exponent, Multiply, Divide, Add, Subtract).

How does PEMDAS work?


Regardless of the exact terminology, the sequence remains the same:

Step 1: Parenthesis
The highest level order is defined by anything contained in brackets. These sums are always
calculated first. But what if there is more than one set of brackets? The rule then is to start at the
innermost set and work outwards. Performing each bracketed calculation should leave you with a
single number, allowing that set of brackets to be removed.

Step 2: Exponent (or Index)

The terms Exponent or Index all relate to operations containing powers or indices such as squaring
or square rooting. These calculations are all performed second.

Steps 3 and 4: Multiply and Divide


The third and fourth steps, multiplication and division, have equal weight and so form a third level
order of operations that are carried out at the same time. Importantly, when two or more operations
of the same order appear one-after-another, the operations should be carried out from left to right.

So, if faced with a sum like:

20 ÷ 5 × 3 ÷ 6 18 ÷ 6 × 4 ÷ 8

you just work from left to right. Twenty over five is four, times three is twelve, divided by six is 2.

Steps 5 and 6: Add and Subtract

Once again, these carry equal weight. Therefore the addition and subtractions form the fourth and
final level order of operations The third and fourth steps, division and multiplication, have equal
weight and so form a third level order of operations that are carried out at the same time, again
working from left to right.

In summary, once you have performed all the "P" and "E/I" calculations, in that order, just work from
left to right doing any "Ms" or "Ds" as you find them, then go back to the beginning and work from
left to right on all the “A" or "S" sums.

On the next page we demonstrate some examples of PEMDAS calculations, we examine


exponents, parenthesis AND we finish with a quick quiz of your PEMDAS skills.

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