PEMDAS—An Unforgettable Acronym | Student Life (2024)

FAQs

What is the acronym for remembering PEMDAS? ›

A mnemonic device used in Math-U-See is “Parachute expert, my dear Aunt Sally” (or “Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally,” as it often appears in other curricula). This is often referred to by the acronym PEMDAS.

PEMDAS is an acronym for the words parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction. For any expression, all exponents should be simplified first, followed by multiplication and division from left to right and, finally, addition and subtraction from left to right.

The world may never know. In all seriousness, "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally," or PEMDAS, is just a mnemonic. It's a tool educators use to help us memorize information through a catchy rhyme, phrase or acronym. Now let's explore how to use this tool to solve equations.

The order of operations can be remembered by the acronym PEMDAS, which stands for: parentheses, exponents, multiplication and division from left to right, and addition and subtraction from left to right. First, simplify what is in parentheses. Then, do any exponents. Next, multiply and divide from left to right.

Excel follows general mathematical rules for calculations, which is Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, and Addition and Subtraction, or the acronym PEMDAS (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally). Using parentheses allows you to change that calculation order.

whereas the full form of BODMAS is – Brackets Order Division Multiplication Addition and Subtraction. PEMDAS term is used mainly in the US but in India and the UK, we call it as BODMAS. But there is no difference between them.

The order of operations are the rules that tell us the sequence in which we should solve an expression with multiple operations. The order is PEMDAS: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, and Division (from left to right), Addition and Subtraction (from left to right).

This set of rules ensures that all math equations are solved in the same way. If equations are solved simply in the order they appear, you may end up with the wrong answer. Students are able to refer to the rules of PEMDAS to solve equations or evaluate expressions in a correct and consistent step by step process.

The current standard has not changed, and math classes and real-life situations still widely use and teach it. It is suggested to keep using PEMDAS as the order of operations in math because it has been used for a long time and is widely accepted.

Do you multiply or add first? ›

PEMDAS (“Parentheses, exponents, ...”) and BEDMAS are also used in the USA and Australia. Returning to the above example, the correct answer would be the first answer as it follows the rules of BODMAS: division can be done before multiplication and must be done before addition, and multiplication comes before addition.

A number or variable outside of parentheses and there is no operation symbol between them is multiplication. 2(x - 7) is an example of that.