Parentheses

Last Updated on February 14, 2024.

In this math lesson, we’ll talk about Parentheses “( ),” We are sure you are familiar with these signs, but math assigns a different meaning to parentheses.

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In math language, parentheses are setting aside a few terms or operations.

The whole idea of parentheses is that they say, “Do this thing first!” Sometimes, parentheses are hugely important for the order of operations.

1. Solve: \(8 + 5\; (-1 - 6)\)
A.
B.
C.
D.

Question 1 of 3

2. Solve:  \(-6 - 5\; (4 - 6)\)

 
A.
B.
C.
D.

Question 2 of 3

3. Solve: \(8 - (5 - 2)^{3} + 6\)
A.
B.
C.
D.

Question 3 of 3


 

This lesson is provided by Onsego GED Prep.

Next lesson: Ordering operations basis
This lesson is a part of our GED Math Study Guide.

Video Transcription

Sometimes, parentheses will help you to see where you should start but are not playing an important role in coming up with the right solution.

So let’s look at some ways in which parentheses may be used.

A few examples:

(1 + 2) + 3 = 3 + 3 = 6
3 + (9 x 2) = 3 + 18 = 21
(3 * 6) + (5 – 2) = 18 + 3 = 21

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Well, you were introduced to parentheses. You must do the math issue within the parentheses first. And when you’ve got that stuff inside out of the way, move on to the operations that are in the question’s open areas.

Even when they’re inside the parentheses, you first need to complete the operations of multiplication and division.

If you’re confronted with multiple operations, the very last steps you need to take are addition and subtraction.

In the previous paragraph, I told you most of the “parentheses” story. So you begin with the parentheses, then move on to multiplication and division, to finish with addition and subtraction. So this was it about Parenthesis and parentheses.

Summary
In math, we are using grouping symbols for affecting the order in which expressions are evaluated.

For example, when we’re using parentheses, the inside expression needs to be evaluated first. This rule is quite simple: You must first evaluate what’s inside those parentheses.