The correct answer is: A. Multiplication and division, exponentiation, positive and negative values.
The order of operations is a set of rules that are used to evaluate mathematical expressions. The order of operations is important because it ensures that everyone gets the same answer when they evaluate an expression.
The order of operations is as follows:
- Parentheses
- Exponents
- Multiplication and Division
- Addition and Subtraction
When evaluating an expression, you should always follow the order of operations. If you don’t, you may get the wrong answer.
For example, consider the expression $2+3\times4$. According to the order of operations, we should multiply 3 and 4 first, then add 2. So the answer is $14$.
However, if we didn’t follow the order of operations, we might get the wrong answer. For example, if we added 2 and 3 first, then multiplied by 4, we would get $10$.
Therefore, it is important to always follow the order of operations when evaluating mathematical expressions.
Here is a brief explanation of each option:
- Option A: Multiplication and division, exponentiation, positive and negative values. This is the correct order of operations.
- Option B: Multiplication and division, positive and negative values, addition and subtraction. This is not the correct order of operations. Addition and subtraction should be done after multiplication and division.
- Option C: Addition and subtraction, positive and negative values, exponentiation. This is not the correct order of operations. Exponentiation should be done before addition and subtraction.
- Option D: None of above. This is not an option.