McGraw Hill Glencoe Algebra 1, 2012
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McGraw Hill Glencoe Algebra 1, 2012 View details
2. Order of Operations
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Exercise 27 Page 13

Pay close attention to the order of operations.

36

Practice makes perfect
According to the order of operations, expressions inside parentheses are evaluated first, while addition and subtraction are evaluated last. For the given expression, this means evaluating the expression inside the square brackets completely before multiplying. [(6^3-9)Ă·23]4

Notice also that even within this parenthetical expression, we must obey the order of operations. (6^3-9)Ă·23 For this, we must remember to evaluate the expression in the parentheses first and the division next.

Operation Before Simplification After Simplification
Calculate power [( 6^3-9)Ă·23]4 [( 216-9)Ă·23]4
Subtract term [( 216-9)Ă·23]4 [ 207Ă·23]4
Calculate quotient [ 207Ă·32]4 [ 9]4
Multiply [ 9]4 36
The expression equals 36.

Alternative Solution

Using a Calculator

We can also evaluate this expression using a calculator. To do so, type it as shown below.