You see a sign saying “I bet you’re wrong!”, you rush in… and stumble over the order of operations. Don’t panic: with the right routine, these viral traps become mere formalities.
The rule to remember (without complicated acronyms)
- Parentheses first.
- Multiplication and division then, from left to right.
- Finally, additions and subtractions, always from left to right.
Two key points:
- Multiplication and division have the same priority : they are solved in the order in which they appear.
- The same principle applies to addition and subtraction.
The tricky exercise
Expression :
Copy the code
2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 ÷ 2 + 2
Step 1 — Division first (because there are no parentheses):
Identify 2 ÷ 2 = 1.
New expression:
Copy the code
2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 2
Step 2 — Additions from left to right:
2 + 2 = 4
4 + 2 = 6
6 + 2 = 8
8 + 1 = 9
9 + 2 = 11
Final result: 11
Why so many mistakes?
- Rushed reading from left to right, without applying the division priority.
- Mentally adding parentheses that do not exist.
- Confusion between “multiplication comes before division” (in reality, they have the same rank).
Express cheat sheets
- First, identify all the divisions/multiplications and solve them in the order they appear.
- Only then should you handle addition/subtraction.
- If an expression seems unclear, add parentheses to properly visualize the hierarchy of calculations.
The “real” modern trap
Compact expressions like 8 ÷ 2(2+2) are often debated online because they are ambiguous. The best practice? Always add parentheses to clarify your intention. This is the key to being among the 1% who never make a mistake .
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