Solve 5² - 4² + 2²: Perfect Square Operations Practice

Solve the following exercise and circle the correct answer:

$5^2-4^2+2^2=$

To solve the expression $5^2 - 4^2 + 2^2$, we'll need to follow the order of operations, often remembered by the acronym PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division (from left to right), Addition and Subtraction (from left to right)). Here, we only have exponents and basic arithmetic.

• First, calculate the powers:
  $5^2 = 25$,
  $4^2 = 16$,
  $2^2 = 4$.


• Now substitute the calculated values back into the expression:
  $25 - 16 + 4$.


• Perform the subtraction and addition from left to right:
  $25 - 16 = 9$.


• Then add 4 to 9:
  $9 + 4 = 13$.

The final answer is $13$.