Insert parentheses as needed in the expression 5 + 8 * 2 - 1 to make the equation true. 5 + 8 * 2 - 1 = 25

What is (5+8)*2 -1 ?

after a few trials, there are only a few choices, you should see that

(5 + 8)*2 - 1 = 25

To make the equation true, we need to insert parentheses in the expression 5 + 8 * 2 - 1.

First, let's calculate the expression without any parentheses:
5 + 8 * 2 - 1
= 5 + 16 - 1
= 21 - 1
= 20

Since the expression without parentheses evaluates to 20, we need to change the grouping of the operations to get the desired result of 25.

One way to do this is by adding parentheses around the addition operation:
(5 + 8) * 2 - 1

Now, let's calculate the expression with the added parentheses:
(5 + 8) * 2 - 1
= 13 * 2 - 1
= 26 - 1
= 25

By adding parentheses around the addition operation, we changed the order of operations and obtained the desired result of 25.