Mason S. answered 08/15/20
University of Michigan Student Tutor
Hey Kristen! I completely understand your confusion. For the MD and AS parts of PEMDAS, the order is whatever comes first.
Lets look at your question. According to P E MD AS, we may begin with the exponent to change the equation to 36/2(3)+4. The parentheses with “(3)” don’t do anything, since there is nothing happening inside them. We can now visually change the equation to 36 / 2 * 3 + 4. You must divide 36/2 first prior to multiplying by 3 because this is the order left to right. Therefore, the equation becomes 18*3+4, which is 54+4=58.
Hope this helps!