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Order of Operations in evaluating a mathematical expression

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The order that we use to assemble a cake or build a house is important. The same holds true for evaluating any expression in math. We call this the Order of Operations. In your own words, explain the Order of Operations.

Give an example of an expression to fit this situation in math and an example in real life.

Please share any trick or mnemonic device to help you recall this order or how to use it. A mnemonic device is a memory trick such as using "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" to learn all the keys on the keyboard.

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Solution Summary

A mnemonic device is given for the order of operations in evaluating a mathematical expression.

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What I recall as a mnemonic device is the phrase "Pardon Me Dear Aunt Sally" which stands for

Powers
Multiplication
Division
Addition
Subtraction

The order of operations in arithmetic is essential when you have to evaluate an expression that has more than one operation. Like the expression that solves this problem, for example:

Mike bought four boxes of candy, each containing 20 pieces from WalMart ...

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