Final answer:
Brackets in mathematics indicate the order of operations. Without brackets, multiplication is performed before addition. With brackets, the addition inside the brackets is done first.
Step-by-step explanation:
The significance of brackets in mathematics is to indicate the order of operations. Brackets group together numbers or expressions that should be treated as a single unit. This affects the sum by determining which operations are performed first.
Let's consider the two sums:
- 3 + 4 x 2 = 11
- (3 + 4) x 2 = 14
In the first sum, without brackets, the multiplication is performed before addition. So, 4 x 2 is done first, resulting in 8, and then 3 is added, giving us a final answer of 11.
In the second sum, with brackets, the addition inside the brackets is done first. So, 3 + 4 is evaluated to 7. Then, this sum is multiplied by 2, resulting in a final answer of 14.