2 + 2 * 2 + 3 * 2 + 4 = 2 + 4 + 6 + 4 = 16
There is no good mathematical reason for the way I have answered this question; but there is a very long standing convention that multiplication and division are done BEFORE addition and subtraction. This convention is embodied in the letters PEMDS...Please Explain My Dear Aunt Sally which gives the order of operations...parentheses, exponentiation, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction. In my opinion and despite the convention, I think it is always better and clearer to use parentheses whenever there is any doubt about the order of operations.
