How to work through a multi-step HESI A2 expression in the fixed sequence, parentheses, exponents, multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction, without changing the answer by changing the order.
ObjectiveM.6.1Read4 minExam weightAlgebra and Statistics ≈ 18% of Mathematics
This lesson is part of the full Study Guide
Unlock every lesson, unit, and quiz across every subject. The Mathematics algebra and statistics unit is included.
Work through a multi-step expression in the fixed sequence, including the left to right tie between multiplication and division and between addition and subtraction.
Apply the sign rules for adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers inside an expression.
Substitute given values for variables and evaluate the resulting expression correctly.
What the lesson concludes
The sequence is fixed: parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication and division left to right, then addition and subtraction left to right.
Multiplication does not automatically beat division, and addition does not automatically beat subtraction. Whichever one sits first in the expression, reading left to right, goes first.
Subtracting a negative flips the operation to addition, so a minus sign in front of a negative value becomes a plus; two unlike signs sitting together give a single negative.
A variable is a placeholder letter for an unknown amount; a constant is a fixed number. Substitute the given value in place of the letter before you calculate anything.
Solve what is inside a bracket or parenthesis completely before you touch anything outside it.