It has to do with the 4 rules of operations, Parentheses first before operations outside/evaluate all exponential expressions/all multiplication and divisions/then all additions and subtractions.
Who made these rules and when did they make them,,, I know its somewhat of an unorthadox question but I must know. I would really appreciate it.
My name is Brian
I am a 33 year old student taking some refresher math courses at a local
community college.
Hi Brian,
This is not an unorthodox question at all, just a sign of an inquiring mind. We become accustomed to the conventions and notation we use and often just take them for granted.
There is an excellent web site called The Earliest Uses of Various Mathematical Symbols that has some information on your question. Follow the link to "operations" and look for the section called Order of Operations.
Penny