Try Solving This Tricky Math Expression!

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:01]Hey guys, welcome to this video. In this video we want to find the value of this expression. 1 minus 2 * 3 minus 4. Are you ready to solve? Let's go ahead and get started. 1 minus 2 gives us negative 1.

[00:00:19]And here we have 3 minus 4, which again equals negative 1.

[00:00:27]So, [snorts] negative 1 * negative 1, which equals positive 1.

[00:00:35]But this answer is not correct.

[00:00:39]Because according to the order of operations, which is PEMDAS, P stands for parentheses, E stands for exponents, M and D stand for multiplication and division, and A and S stand for addition and subtraction.

[00:00:59]First we have to do parentheses, then exponents, then multiplication or division, and then finally addition or subtraction. Remember that multiplication and division have equal priority, and we have to work from left to right.

[00:01:15]And the same applies to addition and subtraction.

[00:01:17]In this expression, we have two subtractions and one multiplication.

[00:01:22]According to the PEMDAS, multiplication has higher priority than subtraction.

[00:01:27]And when we have more than one subtraction in an expression, we have to work from left to right. So therefore, first we have to do this multiplication, then this subtraction, and then finally this subtraction. If we do this subtraction or this subtraction before this multiplication, it is wrong.

[00:01:53]So first we have to do this multiplication. 2 * 3 gives us 6.

[00:02:01]So, we have 1 - 6 - 4.

[00:02:08]Now, we have to do this subtraction. 1 - 6 gives us -5.

[00:02:14]So, -5 - 4, which equals -9.

[00:02:21]And this is our final answer to this problem.

[00:02:26]The correct answer is -9.