The order of operations, that unsung hero of our daily lives
Remember: starting in middle school, we learn the famous order of operations. It has different names depending on the country (PEMDAS, BODMAS…), but the principle remains the same:
- Parentheses
- Exponents (or powers)
- Multiplication and division, from left to right
- Additions and subtractions, also from left to right
Don’t panic, here we only have three operations to manage: multiplication, subtraction, and addition. But it is precisely this deceptive simplicity that makes the exercise misleading.
Let’s solve it together, step by step.
Let’s take our time. Here’s the procedure:
11 – 11 × 11 + 11
We begin with multiplication:
11 × 11 = 121
The calculation therefore becomes:
11 – 121 + 11
Next, we solve the remaining operations from left to right:
11 – 121 = -110
Then,
-110 + 11 = -99
The result
