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 expressions inside the brackets completely first.
(1+3)^2-(1+3)
Then we can calculate the exponent, and finally the difference between their results.
Operation
Before Simplification
After Simplification
Add terms
( 1+ 3)^2-(1+3)
( 4)^2-(1+3)
Add terms
(4)^2-( 1+ 3)
(4)^2-( 4)
Calculate power
(4)^2-(4)
16-(4)
Subtract term
16-( 4)
12
The expression equals 12.
Alternative Solution
Using a Calculator
We can also evaluate this expression using a calculator. To do so, type it as shown below.
