Evaluating Expressions

Order of Operations

“Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” is a mnemonic device to help you remember the order of operations in mathematics. In this saying, P stands for parenthesis, E stands for exponents, M stands for multiplication, D stands for division, A stands for addition, and S stands for subtraction.

Recently, the order of operations changed to include not just parenthesis, but all groupings like brackets, braces, and absolute values. With this change, PEMDAS became GEMDAS. In this Warm-Up activity, you need to devise a new mnemonic for GEMDAS that includes the addition of groupings in the order of operations.

Post your mnemonic to the discussions area. Then, return to the topic several times over the next few days to read your coursemates’ posts. “Vote” for your three favorite mnemonic devices by replying to each with the word “like” and writing at least one sentence explaining why you like it. The mnemonic with the most “likes” is the class favorite.