Other teachers use an equivalent acronym, BODMAS: brackets, orders, division and multiplication, and addition and subtraction. Still others tell their pupils to remember the little ditty, “Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally.”[This math problem isn’t the first time the internet has stood divided. We would insert parentheses to indicate our meaning and to signal whether the division should be carried out first, or the multiplication. If everyone else is driving on the right side of the road (as in the U.S.), you would be wise to follow suit. The same goes if everyone else is driving on the left, as in the United Kingdom.

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