Western Governors University (WGU) ITSW 2113 D278 Scripting and Programming Foundations Practice Exam

The significance of parentheses in expressions primarily lies in their ability to group operations, which effectively controls the order in which calculations are performed. In programming and mathematics, expressions can be composed of multiple operations, and without parentheses, the order of operations follows a predefined hierarchy. However, to alter that hierarchy or to clarify which operations should be executed together, parentheses are used.

For instance, in an expression such as \(3 + 5 \times 2\), multiplication typically takes precedence over addition. So without parentheses, the result is \(3 + (5 \times 2) = 3 + 10 = 13\). However, if we use parentheses to group the addition, as in \((3 + 5) \times 2\), the operations change order, yielding a different result: \(8 \times 2 = 16\).

This functionality is crucial for ensuring that mathematical expressions yield the intended results, particularly in complex formulas where the order of operations can significantly affect the outcome. Parentheses thus provide a mechanism to enforce specific evaluation sequences, which is essential for accurate programming and mathematical computation.