
Jeremy E. answered 01/10/13
Patient, effective tutor for Math, Science, and History
Hello Arianna. In order to work this problem you need to remember your order of operations. "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" or "PEMDAS" which represents:
P - Parentheses first
E - Exponents (ie Powers and Square Roots, etc.)
M - Multiplication
D - Division (left-to-right)
A - Addition
S - Subtraction (left-to-right)
Now take your equation: 3(10 - 12 / 6)^2
First we work within the Parentheses: (10 - 12 / 6)
Inside of the Parentheses we work the division first: (10 - 2)
Next we continue working within the Parentheses: (8)
So now our equation is: 3(8)^2
The next operation we look at is the exponent. 8^2 = 64
Finally we multiply: 3 * 64 = 192
Answer: 3(10 - 12 / 6)^2 = 192