The order that we use to assemble a cake or build a house is important. The same holds true for evaluating an expression in math. We call this the Order of Operations.

a. Explain order of operations and why it is necessary.

b. Use multiplication, division, addition and subtraction and at least one set of parentheses to write an expression that simplifies to 7, 13, or 17. Do your work step by step and explain each step as you simplify the expression. Demonstrate the consequences of not using the proper order of operations by showing that other orders yield different answers. You CANNOT use an expression that has been posted by a classmate, and you CANNOT use an expression that is worked out in the text.

c. The reason that addition step was done before final division step because the addition operation was contained within the parentheses which needs to be solved before any step.

If the proper procedure might have not been followed then it would have given different result as given below:

d. Please share any trick or mnemonic device you use to help you recall Order of Operations or how you use it. A mnemonic device is a memory trick such as using "Roy G Biv" to remember the order of colors in a rainbow (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet).