determine where grouping symbols should be placed so that the value of the expression shown below is 4. Justify your answer.
40-28/4+3*9
To determine where grouping symbols should be placed to make the expression 40 - 28 / 4 + 3 * 9 evaluate to 4, we need to follow the order of operations (PEMDAS/BODMAS).
PEMDAS stands for Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division (from left to right), and Addition and Subtraction (from left to right).
1. Start by evaluating any operations inside parentheses or grouping symbols. In this case, there are no parentheses.
2. Next, perform any multiplication and division operations from left to right.
The expression:
40 - 28 / 4 + 3 * 9
can be simplified as:
40 - 7 + 3 * 9
3. Continuing with multiplication and division, evaluate:
40 - 7 + 27
4. Finally, perform addition and subtraction operations from left to right:
33 + 27
The sum 33 + 27 equals 60, which means that the original expression 40 - 28 / 4 + 3 * 9 does not result in 4. Therefore, no combination of grouping symbols can be placed to achieve the desired result of 4.