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If the Order of Operations did not existhow many possible solutions can you find for this expression? 4 + 9 + 16/4 - 8 - 3x5

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

User Yann VERY
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1 Answer

4 votes

Final answer:

The expression without the Order of Operations evaluates to -6, so there is one possible solution. So, the answer is A. 1.

Step-by-step explanation:

The expression you provided is: 4 + 9 + 16/4 - 8 - 3x5

Without using the Order of Operations, we would simply evaluate the expression from left to right.

So, 4 + 9 + 16/4 - 8 - 3x5 becomes:

4 + 9 + 4 - 8 - 3x5

Then, we perform the operations one by one:

  1. 4 + 9 + 4 = 17
  2. 17 - 8 = 9
  3. -3x5 = -15

Therefore, the final result is 9 - 15 = -6.

So, the answer is A. 1.

If the Order of Operations did not exist, we would have to consider all the different permutations in which operations could be carried out in the expression 4 + 9 + 16/4 - 8 - 3x5. There are five operations to perform: three additions, one division, and one multiplication.

Without the Order of Operations, each operation could be performed first. The Order of Operations, also known as PEMDAS or BODMAS, dictates the sequence in which mathematical operations should be performed to ensure consistent results. Without this guidance, the expression could be calculated in any permutation of operations.

User Ora
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