We will summarize these rules here as follows. Operations within symbols of inclusion are done first. Exponentiation is done next right to left if stacked. Multiplication and Division are then performed left to right . Addition and Subtraction are next performed left to right .
Some discussion regarding order of exponents is in order.
Be sure to use parentheses whenever encountering stacked exponents. A unt S ally. A common convention for organizing our numbers is to use a number line . A number line has larger numbers to the right and smaller numbers to the left. At its center is zero.