Have you learned PEMDAS or "order of operations" yet ?
I have a hunch that this problem is to give you practice in using
the order of operations correctly.
PEMDAS means "Always do the operations in this order:
P . . . anything inside parentheses
E . . . exponents
M . . . multiplication
D . . . division
A . . . addition
S . . . subtraction
So what operations do we have in this problem ?
5³ + 4÷2 - 5 x 6
5³ . . . an exponent
4÷2 . . . division
5 x 6 . . . multiplication
Let's go down the PEMDAS list, and do them in the right order.
Parentheses . . . none of those
Exponent . . . one of those. 5³ = 125
Multiplication . . . one of those. 5 x 6 = 30
Division . . . one of those . . . 4÷2 = 2
Now, let's put each of these where it belongs in the problem:
5³ + 4÷2 - 5 x 6
125 + 2 - 30
The problem is simpler already, and we haven't even finished PEMDAS yet.
We did P, E, M, and D . What's next ?
A for addition. One of those in the problem. 125 + 2 = 127
Now the problem is 127 - 30
One operation left . . . S for subtraction. One of those in the problem.
127 - 30 = 97 .
If you did the operations in the wrong order, you'd get
a different number. It would be wrong.
Using PEMDAS, you get 97, and that's the right result.
