The order and laws of operations
The order and laws of operations
When a calculation has several operations, you do them in a fixed order:
- first what is in brackets;
- then multiplication and division, from left to right;
- last addition and subtraction, from left to right.
So , but : the brackets say to subtract before you multiply.
Calculate in the order of operations.
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
Which result is bigger, a’s or b’s? By how much?
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
In addition and multiplication you may swap the order of the numbers – this is the commutative law:
And you may choose which two numbers to work out first – this is the associative law:
The letters , , stand for any number at all. These laws let you calculate in your head: look for numbers that are easy to add or multiply together.
Subtraction and division have no such laws: , but .
Calculate with the commutative and associative laws.
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
To multiply a number by a sum, you can multiply it by each of the numbers added and add the products. This is the distributive law:
It lets you multiply in your head: split one of the numbers into a handy sum.
- – a mixed number is a sum: .
Calculate with the distributive law.
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
When you multiply by a number below 1, the result is smaller than the number. Multiplying by means taking of the number – a part of it:
- – half of 10;
- – less than 10.
When you multiply by a number above 1, the result is bigger than the number: .
Write a number in each square so that the result is bigger than 3.75.
If it cannot be done, explain why.
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – check and a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power
/ – fraction bar · Tab or the arrows – between numerator and denominator, then a note above or below · Enter – a new line · * – times · ^ – power, ↓ – end of the power