Who Invented PEMDAS? The Math Rule That Changed Everything

Mathematical discoveries happen every day. PEMDAS wasn’t even a thing until the 1900s! In this K12 Teaching Moment, our host, David, will walk you through the order of operations and how it became standardized across the world.

Scroll down to see the answer and how it is solved...


How to Solve: 20 − 5 ÷ (2+3)
Step 1: Solve what is in the parentheses (PEMDAS) first, so 2+3 = 5
Now the equation is 20 – 5 ÷ 5
Step 2: Do the division (PEMDAS), so 5 ÷ 5 = 1
Now the equation is 20 – 1
Step 3: Subtract the final numbers (PEMDAS), so 20 – 1 =19
And the answer is 19!