Question

A student wrote the following on his math homework assignment:

6 ( 12 - 8 ) = 64

Explain the error in the equation and give the correct answer.

Answer 1

Instead of using PEMDAS or the Order of Operations, the student went ahead and solved the equation as though it were written 6 * 12 - 8.

The correct way to solve would be to first solve the parentheses. 12 - 8 is equal to 4. 4 times 6 is 24, giving us an answer of 24.