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When evaluating the expression 5x^2 for x=4 explain why 4 must be squared before multiplying by 5

User Ga
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1 Answer

4 votes

Answer:

Order of operations

Explanation:

4 must be squared before multiplying by 5 because of order of operations (PEMDAS). PEMDAS stands for parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. 4 squared is an example of an exponent and multiplying by 5 is an example of multiplication. Therefore 4 squared must come first.

When 4 is squared first, you will get an answer of 80.

When you multiply by 5 first, you will get an answer of 400.

User Dandean
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