Question

How do you simplify “20 divided by 5 times 2 plus 3”?

Answer 1

In mathematics, we sometimes have to convert the given statement into a mathematical expression. So, we will first have to convert this statement into mathematical form.After converting into the mathematical form, we see that there are three arithmetic operations in the given question but we are not given a specific order for performing the operations, so we use a rule called the PEMDAS rule. This rule tells us the order in which we have to perform the mathematical operations, using which we can solve the given question.

Complete step by step answer:
According to the PEMDAS rule, we first perform the division operation before performing the
addition.Thus, 20 divided by 5 times 2 plus 3 is written as $20\div5\times 2+3$
$4\times 2+3$
Now, we first perform multiplication before addition –
$8+3=11$

Hence “20 divided by 5 times 2 plus 3” is equal to 11.

Note: If we were given terms in parentheses then we would know that we have to perform the given operation separately and then with the whole, that is, if we were given $(20\div5)(2+3)$ then we divide 20 by 5, and add 2 and 3 separately and then multiply the obtained value and get the answer $4\times 5=20$.