Which operation is performed first in the order of operations known as PEMDAS?

• A. Parentheses
• B. Exponents
• C. Addition
• D. Multiplication

Answer: (A)

In PEMDAS, the first step is to simplify inside parentheses. The grouping created by parentheses tells you to evaluate that part of the expression before anything outside it, so you must resolve the inside first. This priority is what keeps expressions evaluating consistently when you have numbers and operations mixed together.

For example, in 3 + 2 × (6 - 4), you start by computing inside the parentheses: 6 − 4 equals 2. Then you carry out the multiplication: 2 × 2 equals 4, and finally the addition: 3 + 4 equals 7. Skipping the parentheses would ignore the intended grouping and give a different, incorrect result.

After handling parentheses, you move on to exponents, then multiplication and division from left to right, and finally addition and subtraction from left to right.