<Dl> <Dd> ((1 + 2) − 3) − (4 − 5) = (3 − 3) − (− 1) = 1 . (\ displaystyle ((1 + 2) - 3) - (4 - 5) = (3 - 3) - (- 1) = 1 .) </Dd> </Dl> <Dd> ((1 + 2) − 3) − (4 − 5) = (3 − 3) − (− 1) = 1 . (\ displaystyle ((1 + 2) - 3) - (4 - 5) = (3 - 3) - (- 1) = 1 .) </Dd> <P> There are differing conventions concerning the unary operator − (usually read "minus"). In written or printed mathematics, the expression − 3 is interpreted to mean 0 − (3) = − 9, but in some applications and programming languages, notably Microsoft Excel (and other spreadsheet applications) and the programming language bc, unary operators have a higher priority than binary operators, that is, the unary minus has higher precedence than exponentiation, so in those languages − 3 will be interpreted as (− 3) = 9 . This does not apply to the binary minus operator −; for example while the formulas = - 2 ^ 2 and = 0 + - 2 ^ 2 return 4 in Microsoft Excel, the formula = 0 - 2 ^ 2 returns − 4 . In cases where there is the possibility that the notation might be misinterpreted, a binary minus operation can be enforced by explicitly specifying a leading 0 (as in 0 - 2 ^ 2 instead of just - 2 ^ 2), or parentheses can be used to clarify the intended meaning . </P> <P> Similarly, there can be ambiguity in the use of the slash symbol / in expressions such as 1 / 2x . If one rewrites this expression as 1 ÷ 2x and then interprets the division symbol as indicating multiplication by the reciprocal, this becomes: </P>

Which comes first in the order of operations multiplication or division