How to Apply Order of Operations in Algebra

The order of operations in algebra means solving first for exponents or roots, then multiplication, division, addition, and last for subtraction. The steps for the order of operations also require attention to mathematical grouping symbols, such as parentheses and brackets.

Comments (2)

Posted by nia MARCH 26, 2009 | 03:48PM
this is all helpful. i need help figuring out problems that look like this: 5x^9 + 4x^6 + 20x^8 divided by 5x^3

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Posted by Dummies Online Editor MARCH 26, 2009 | 04:43PM
@Nia: More great math information is on its way soon. In the meantime, look into the idea of factoring out the greatest common factor to reduce this fraction. In brief, ax + bx = x(a + b). In your example, you can factor x^6 from the top equation and then cancel out the x^3 from the bottom. Then use the distributive property. (Remember that dividing by 5 is the same as multiplying by one-fifth.)

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