Question 1

Evaluate:

11 - 5 ** 2 // 4

Hint

Follow the rules of BODMAS/PEMDAS - carry out the exponent operation first, followed by multiplication and division operations, and then by addition and subtraction. This operator // represents the integer division operator, whilst ** means exponent. (e.g., 3**4 = 81).

Solution

The exponent ** operator holds the highest precedence level, followed by the integer division // operator, and finally the subtraction - operator. Hence, we work out 5 ** 2 = 25 first. Through division, \(25 \div 4 = 6\text{ rem }1\). For our integer division operation, extract only the quotient. We then finally end with subtracting 6 from 11 to obtain the correct answer.

11 - 5 ** 2 // 4
= 11 - 25 // 4
= 11 - 6
= 5

Answer