Answer:
16
Step-by-step explanation:
Evaluated according to the Order of Operations, this is ...
= 8/2·4
= 4·4
= 16
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The Google calculator (see the attachment) always follows the order of operations. It can be relied upon to settle any debate.
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There are several sources of confusion here.
1. The mnemonic PEMDAS -- is sometimes interpreted to mean that Multiplication and Division are done in that order. Rather, it needs to be understood that multiplication and division have the same precedence and are done in order of appearance left to right.
2. The division bar and/or the "divided by" symbol (÷) and/or the word "over" are sometimes interpreted to mean everything to the left of it is divided by everything to the right of it. Sometimes these symbols or words are mixed and intended to have different meanings, as in 1/4÷1/12, for example.
The Order of Operations uses only parentheses (or "brackets") as a grouping symbol. Neither the exponentiation operator (^) nor the division operator (/, ÷, "over") nor the root operators (√, ∛) imply any grouping. Without parentheses, these operators apply only to the first operand following:
x^1/2 = (x^1)/2 = x/2 ≠ √x
√3·4 = 4√3 ≠ √12
1/4÷1/12 = 1/(4·1·12) = 1/48 ≠ 3
1/2×10^5 = (1/2)×10^5 = 5×10^4 ≠ 5×10^-6 . . . . you must be very careful here
When an expression is typeset, as in ...
[tex]\dfrac{8}{2(2+2)}=1[/tex]
then the division bar performs the function of a grouping symbol. When that same expression is written in plain text, it must be written as ...
8/(2(2+2)) = 1
