Parsing algebraic expressions is always a pain. If you need to compute, say, 2+4*2, the answer should be the same as (2 + (4 *2)), not ((2 + 4) * 2) — in other words, the right answer is 10, not ...

Understanding terms and expressions In algebra, letters are used when numbers are not known. Algebraic terms , such as \(2s\) or \(8y\), leave the multiplication signs out.