Order of Operations and RPN

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Order of Operations and RPN, an expository paper in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in Teaching {U of N} by Greg Vanderbeek.

There is not a wealth of information regarding the history of the notations and procedures associated with what is now called the “order of operations”. There is evidence that some agreed upon order existed from the beginning of mathematical study. The grammar used in the earliest mathematical writings, before mathematical notation existed, supports the notion of computational order. It is clear that one person did not invent the rules but rather current practices have grown gradually over several centuries and are still evolving.

An edifying and scholarly article for the 'archives'.

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