PEMDAS in Action

Algebra 1 · Axiom Academy

PEMDAS in Action: The Recipe Scaler The order of operations is the secret ingredient — it's what gets your recipe right, every time. You're baking cookies for a party. The base recipe makes 1 dozen and needs 2 cups of flour ; every extra dozen needs 1.5 cups more . You want 5 dozen — so the flour you need is: Tempting shortcut: just read the formula left to right, number by number. Hit Play and watch how much flour that dumps into the cup. PEMDAS — Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication/Division, Addition/Subtraction — sets the order. Click the operations in the right sequence and watch what each one does to the recipe. Same numbers, two orders, two answers. P arentheses group what's done first, M ultiplication and D ivision come before A ddition and S ubtraction — and that's what turns 9 cups into the right 8 . From a kitchen to a spreadsheet to a bridge, the order of operations is what keeps everyone getting the same correct answer.

This is the written version of the interactive lesson above. See the full Algebra 1 course.