3. Tips and Tricks
• Remember PEMDAS (Please Excuse My
Dear Aunt Sally) PEMDAS is one of my
favorite things; because it tells you in what
order to do the problem!
1. P: Parentheses
2. E: Exponents
3. M: Multiplication
4. D: Division
5. A: Addition
6. S: Subtraction
4. Let’s use PEMDAS to simplify
this expression:
7 – 3(8 – 2) + 6 2
Its easiest to think of this in parts.
Looking at the whole thing all at once can
be really overwhelming.
5. Remember, if you have 7-3 (for example)
the minus sign by the 3 makes that 3 a
negative number.
Lets take care of those Parentheses first
by multiplying -3 by 8 and -2
-3 ( 8 – 2 )
-3 times 8 = -24 (a – times a + is a – number)
-3 times -2= 6 (a – times a – is a + number)
So are equation now looks like this:
7 - 24 + 6 + 6 2
6. Next, since we do not have any exponents
and we have already taken care of
multiplication it is extremely important that
we divide. Or else the whole problem will
turn out wrong.
6 2=3
Now our equation looks like this:
7 – 24 + 6 + 3
Using PEMDAS, we now have a much
simpler problem to deal with.
7. Finally all we have to do is add and subtract.
7 – 24 = -17
(If you have trouble subtracting negatives
just rearrange the problem and slap a – in
front your answer: 24 - 7 = 17 = -17)
6+3=9
-17 + 9 = -8
And you’re done!