Help with this math problem... I'm not smarter than a 5th grader

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3^3-6(10-8)+5

27-(60-48)+5

27-12+5

27-17=10

Using PEMDAS: Parentheses, Exponent, Mulplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction.

Do it in this order.

-12+5 does not equal 17

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3^3-6(10-8)+5

27-(60-48)+5

27-12+5

27-17=10

Using PEMDAS: Parentheses, Exponent, Mulplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction.

Do it in this order.

-12+5 does not equal 17

Exactly! I'm really disturbed if an answer key got this wrong, in this way. It shows a clear lack of understanding of the key concepts here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3^3-6(10-8)+5

27-(60-48)+5

27-12+5

27-17=10

Using PEMDAS: Parentheses, Exponent, Mulplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction.

Do it in this order.

If you want to do it this way, there would need to be parentheses around (12 + 5). Otherwise the math is -12 + 5 = -7.

[Anonymous]

Order of Operations from Math.com:

First do all operations that lie inside parentheses.
Next, do any work with exponents or radicals.
Working from left to right, do all multiplication and division.
Finally, working from left to right, do all addition and subtraction.

Correct answer is 20.

PEMDAS is the bane of my existence. Kids feel super-proud when they can call out what each letter stands for, but then they can't apply the acronym properly. They always want to do all the multiplication before any division, and all the addition before any subtraction. GAH!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

3^3 - 6(10-8) + 5

According to Google, the answer is 20.

https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#hl=en&q=3%5E3+-+6(10-8)+%2B+5

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

PEMDAS is the bane of my existence. Kids feel super-proud when they can call out what each letter stands for, but then they can't apply the acronym properly. They always want to do all the multiplication before any division, and all the addition before any subtraction. GAH!

Yes, the acronym is misleading. What would happen if you just didn't use it when teaching order of operations?

[Anonymous]

Exactly? How hard can it be to remember this?

[Anonymous]

It's PEMDAS and the answer is 10.


3^3 - 6(10-8) +5

Parentheses: (10-8) = 2
Exponent: 3^3 = 27
Multiplication: 6 * 2 = 12
Division: N/A
Addition: 12 (it's subtraction not negative 12) + 5 = 17
Subtration: 27 -17

Answer: 10

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's PEMDAS and the answer is 10.


3^3 - 6(10-8) +5

Parentheses: (10-8) = 2
Exponent: 3^3 = 27
Multiplication: 6 * 2 = 12
Division: N/A
Addition: 12 (it's subtraction not negative 12) + 5 = 17
Subtration: 27 -17
Answer: 10

It's not PEMDAS, though. It's parentheses, exponents, multiplication/division from left to right, addition/subtraction from left to right.

Parentheses: (10-8) = 2
Exponent: 3^3 = 27
Multiplication: 6*2 = 12
Addition/subtraction, from left to right: 27 - 12 + 5 = 15 + 5 = 20

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's PEMDAS and the answer is 10.


3^3 - 6(10-8) +5

Parentheses: (10-8) = 2
Exponent: 3^3 = 27
Multiplication: 6 * 2 = 12
Division: N/A
Addition: 12 (it's subtraction not negative 12) + 5 = 17
Subtration: 27 -17

Answer: 10

OMG! For all the teachers out there who uses PEMDAS, please stop now! We cannot have so many math illiterate adults any more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OMG! For all the teachers out there who uses PEMDAS, please stop now! We cannot have so many math illiterate adults any more.

Either that, or we could change the mathematical convention to actually be PEMDAS...

But I think that stop teaching "PEMDAS" is a better idea!

[Anonymous]

This is just embarrassing. The answer is 20, not 10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3^3-6(10-8)+5

27-(60-48)+5

27-12+5

27-17=10

Using PEMDAS: Parentheses, Exponent, Mulplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction.

Do it in this order.

WHAT?! This is crazy!
27-12+5 = 20

[Anonymous]

Math teacher here. Yes, the answer is 20.

Multiplication and division are done from left to right (neither is done before the other).

Addition and subtraction are done from left to right (neither is done before the other).

We teach that along with the acronym!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Math teacher here. Yes, the answer is 20.

Multiplication and division are done from left to right (neither is done before the other).

Addition and subtraction are done from left to right (neither is done before the other).

We teach that along with the acronym!!

Thank you, math teacher. I was beginning to despair for the human race. How will we ever build another building or a nuclear bomb or send a spacecraft to the moon without a planet of properly trained PEMDAS people. (Well, maybe we could afford to skip the nuclear bomb....) I am glad PEMDAS will not die with the pencil.