First, evaluate the expression inside the brackets. Find the square root of 36. Then, multiply that result by 1/3. Next, calculate 12 squared. Finally, divide the result of 12 squared by the result from the brackets.
Full Answer
This question tests your understanding of the order of operations, often remembered by the acronym BIDMAS or PEMDAS.
B - Brackets: We must evaluate the expression inside the brackets first: (1/3 × √36).
I - Indices: Inside the brackets, we have a square root, which is a type of index. √36 = 6.
M - Multiplication: Now we do the multiplication inside the bracket: 1/3 × 6 = 2.
So the expression becomes 12² ÷ 2.
Next, we evaluate the other index: 12² = 144.
Finally, we do the division: 144 ÷ 2 = 72.
Common mistakes
✗ A common mistake is to not follow BIDMAS correctly. For example, doing 144 ÷ 1/3 before multiplying by √36.
✗ Another error is calculating 1/3 of 36 instead of 1/3 of √36.
✗ Forgetting that √36 has a value of 6.
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