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what is important about Order of Operations?

 Sep 18, 2014

Best Answer 

 #2
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It provides a convention (protocol) for performing mathematical operations in a specified order (known as the order of precedence).....for instance.....if we had......

13 + 6 x 7    ..... which operation should be carried out first??

We might think that we would add first and then multiply, but this is incorrect...the order of operations tells us to perform the multiplication and then the addition. Without this structure, there would be chaos in trying to determine the "right" answer!!!  The first (incorrect) result would be 133....the second (correct result) = 55.....see the difference??

 

 Sep 18, 2014
 #1
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it's the guidelines for basically all math problems

 Sep 18, 2014
 #2
avatar+129840 
+5
Best Answer

It provides a convention (protocol) for performing mathematical operations in a specified order (known as the order of precedence).....for instance.....if we had......

13 + 6 x 7    ..... which operation should be carried out first??

We might think that we would add first and then multiply, but this is incorrect...the order of operations tells us to perform the multiplication and then the addition. Without this structure, there would be chaos in trying to determine the "right" answer!!!  The first (incorrect) result would be 133....the second (correct result) = 55.....see the difference??

 

CPhill Sep 18, 2014

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