Thursday Lesson 1-2 Order of Operations

On Thursday we will start with the order of operations. For a fun way to remember the order of operations, you might want to memorize one of the following phrases.

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

Penguins Eat Many Donuts After School

Parenthesis
Exponents
Multiply and Divide (left to right in the order they appear)
Add and Subtract (left to right in the order they appear)

In mathematic equations, it is important to ALWAYS remember these important steps when solving any equation.

Here is a fun video to help you remember the order of operations.

Order of Operations Video

Here is an example:

(2 - 3*4) - 2(72/8) + 7*2 - 6

First, we do what is inside of the parenthesis. The order of operations still applies inside the parenthesis. In this set we must do the multiplication first.

(2-12) - 2(9) + 7*2 - 6

Now we have done the multiplication inside the parenthesis, we can finish off the other operations inside of the parenthesis.

6 - 2(9) + 7*2 - 6

Now we move on to exponents. Since there are no exponents in this equation, we will move on to the next step which is multiply and divide left to right.

6 - 18 + 14 - 6

The last step is to add or subtract in the order they appear left to right.

-12 + 14 - 6

2 - 6

-4

The final answer to this equation is -4.

You will use the order of operations throughout your math classes through high school. This is a very important concept to get down. Be sure to practice as much as you need to.