this post was submitted on 14 May 2026
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I have seen several people saying the order operation is

  • Brackets/Parenthesis
  • Orders (roots and powers)
  • Divisions
  • Multiplications
  • Subtractions
  • Additions

But I was taught it as

  • Brackets/Parenthesis
  • Roots and powers, left to right (independently of the exact operation)
  • Divisions and multiplications, left to right (independently of the exact operation)
  • Subtractions and additions, left to right (independently of the exact operation)

So, what order were you taught and/or use today?

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[โ€“] west2seven@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

Its PEMDAS and nothing else

[โ€“] platypode@sh.itjust.works 20 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I think the question is whether you interpret that acronym as P E M D A S or P E MD AS (i.e., whether multiplication has higher precedence than division or whether they are the same).

The latter is correct, the former is an unfortunately common misunderstanding.

[โ€“] monovergent@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

Until now, it did not occur to me that there are some who believe multiplication and addition come before division and subtraction, respectively. Order of operations clickbait arguments make a bit more "sense" now.

[โ€“] aceshigh@lemmy.world 1 points 12 hours ago

Please excuse my dear aunt sally. I always assumed this was sequential.