Question

When evaluating algebraic expressions, the first thing is to

Answer 1

You have to use the order of operations when evaluating algebraic expressions. The mnemonic device is PEMDAS, which stands for Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction. So the first thing is to solve what's in the parentheses.

Answer 2

When evaluating an algebraic expression the first thing you do is that you observe what would be the first operation applied on the expression.

In order to determine that you need to know the basic concept of PEMDAS

Where as

P stands for Parentheses (brackets)

E stands for exponents

M stands for multiplication

D stands for division

A stands for addition

S stands for subtraction

This is the order that needs to be kept in mind while solving the expression