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?

  • Ephera@lemmy.ml
    17·
    22 days ago

    Yeah, differentiating between multiplications vs. divisions and additions vs. subtractions doesn’t make sense, because they’re the same thing respectively, just written differently.

    When you divide by 3, you can also multiply by ⅓.
    When you subtract 7, you can also add -7.

    There is one quirk to be aware of, though. When people notate a division with a long horizontal line, that implies parentheses around both of the expressions, top and bottom.

    • Otter@lemmy.ca
      3·
      22 days ago

      Something I haven’t seen mentioned yet is how we remember it as either BEDMAS or PEMDAS, but not PEDMAS or BEMDAS. The order of M and D are tied to whether we use the term brackets or parentheses. BEMDAS sounds very wrong to me

  • WolfLink@sh.itjust.works
    3·
    20 days ago

    This are equivalent because the order of multiplications/divisions and the order of additions/subtractions doesn’t affect the end result.

    Also in general if the order of operations in your equation isn’t clear without thinking about it you are doing it wrong and need to add some parenthesis.

    Also caveat: on a computer the order of operations can matter in more detail due to floating point errors, and you may want to add extra parenthesis to control it.

  • alsimoneau@lemmy.ca
    3·
    20 days ago

    If there is confusion, you wrote it wrong. Don’t inline it, use a proper equation in whatever software you’re using. If you need to inline it, go heavy on parentheses.

  • sylver_dragon@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    21 days ago

    When you get to doing division and multiplication, it can make sense to look at what is being done to what and see if operations cancel out or simplify. E.g. if you are multiplying by 6 and dividing by 2 and bother operations are going to affect the same number/group/etc. there is no need to do both operations, you just multiply by 3 since that’s ultimately what you are doing. Really, any place you can simplify operations, do that. Same goes for addition/subtraction. The Commutative Property is really handy for making hard math easier.

  • chunes@lemmy.world
    1·
    21 days ago

    I only write math in the context of programming languages. I prefer ones without order of operations. Rebol, (Polish notation), Factor/Forth (Postfix notation), smalltalk, (left-to-right) apl (right-to-left), etc.

    In short, it doesn’t matter as long as your audience understands you.

  • kat_angstrom@lemmy.world
    33·
    21 days ago

    BEDMAS cuz all y’all “parentheses” people are way too hoity toity and they’re called Brackets, y’all

    Edit: this is a shitpost. The downvotes are deserved.