Grouping symbols frequently used to isolate operations.
- Parentheses are always used in pairs.
- In a sequence of operations, we solve the operations in parentheses first. Parentheses help to set a certain order in which to solve the operations.
- We also use parentheses to group together two elements used to locate a point on a cartesian plane, such as the point A (2, 6).
Notation
The symbols for parentheses are “(” and “)”.
Examples
Use of parentheses in an operation: 7 + 4(3 + 2) – 2(6 + 5)
Use of parentheses in an operation: x + 3(x + 1) + 5(x + 2) = 22
Historical Note
The first person to use parentheses to isolate mathematical expressions was Christopher Clavius (1537-1612), a Jesuit student of Johannes Kepler (1571-1630). He was the mathematician of Pope Gregory XIII. The French mathematician François Viète (1540-1603) was the first to use them in his book Zeletica, published in 1593.