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Basic Operations

There are four basic operations :

+ (addition) . . . . . . . . . . . . .as in 6 + 2 = 8 ; the sum of 6 and 2 is 8 .

− (subtraction) . . . . . . . . . . .as in 6 − 2 = 4 ; the difference of 6 and 2 is 4 .

× or ⋅ or ∗ (multiplication) . as in 6 ∗ 2 = 12 ; the product of 6 and 2 is 12 .

/ or ÷ (division) . . . . . . . . . as in 6 / 2 = 3 ; the quotient of 6 and 2 is 3 .

You use parentheses ( ) for grouping and sometimes multiplication.

Examples:

20 − 12 − 7 = 8 − 7 = 1 , while

20 − ( 12 − 7 ) = 20 − 5 = 15

Also, ( 3 + 4 ) ( 6 − 2 )

= ( 7 ) ( 4 ) = 7 × 4 = 28 ,

while

3 + ( 4 ) ( 6 ) − 2 = 3 + 24 − 2 = 27 − 2 = 25 .

(See also exponents and the order of operations .)