I have another one What is the value of 42-2(3x5+1)? I thought you worked the parentheses first which would be 16, then subtract 42 from 2 and you get 39, you would then multiply 16x39 and you would get 624. But the answers I have to choose from are 8, 1, -16 and -21. What am I doing wrong?

1 answer

Online, “*” is used to indicate multiplication to avoid confusion with “x” as an unknown.

Assuming no typos (either yours or the text):

Get rid of parentheses first.

42 - 2(3*5+1) = 42 - 2(16) = 42 - 32 = 10

42 - 2 ≠ 39