How to simplify -12 /3•(-8+(-4)^2-6)+2.
We need to apply PEMDAS, which gives parentheses top priority.
There is another acronym: BODMAS, in which B stands for “brackets”, which has the same meaning as “parentheses”. The letter O stands for “of”, and “•” also means “of”, and it takes priority over D and M (division and multiplication), so we assume that the denominator includes the whole expression 3•(-8+(-4)^2-6).
But first, let’s look at the contents of the parentheses.
(-4)²=16 is evaluated first because the E in PEMDAS gives it priority. Any negative number squared is positive because the minus times minus is plus.
Now we can evaluate the expression in parentheses: -8+16-6=2.
So the denominator of the fraction becomes 3•2=3×2=6. The fraction becomes -12/6=-(12/6)=-2.
Finally, we add 2 (we are left with -2+2) so the result is zero.