Only one of the following statements is true - which one?

Question

Options

• Aaddition precedes multiplication
• Bmultiplication precedes addition
• Cneither statement can be evaluated
• Dneither statement can be evaluated

• A
  5% (1)
• B
  75% (15)
• C
  5% (1)
• D
  15% (3)

Explanation

Multiplication precedes addition because this is a foundational rule of arithmetic operator precedence: in any expression like 2 + 3 × 4, the multiplication is evaluated first, yielding 2 + 12 = 14, not 5 × 4 = 20.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A inverts the rule - addition does not come first.
• C and D are identical, which is a red flag; a valid multiple-choice question cannot have two correct answers, so both "neither statement can be evaluated" options are traps - both statements can be evaluated, and one is clearly true.

Memory tip: Use the acronym PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction) - M comes before A, so multiplication always beats addition.

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