The order of operations is PEMDASPEMDAS.
PP stands for parentheses—you should always try to make whatever is inside the parentheses as simple as possible.
EE is for exponent—raise numbers to exponents as soon as parentheses are as simple as possible
MDMD stands for multiplication and division. Do both of these in a left to right order, at the same time.
(Example: 4xx7+15-:3=28+15-:3=28+5=334×7+15÷3=28+15÷3=28+5=33)
ASAS stands for addition and subtraction, which are also both done from left to right simultaneously.
In your scenario, 4(9-6)^24(9−6)2, it may be tempting to try to do use the exponent. However, we can't do (9-6)^2(9−6)2 without first knowing what (9-6)(9−6) is. This is why parentheses are always computed first.
We know that 9-69−6 is 33, so we can rewrite your original term as color(blue)(4(3)^2)4(3)2.
Now, which do we do next—multiply or square? In PEMDASPEMDAS, exponent comes before multiplication, so we will square the 33 before we multiply by 44. Doing this in reverse is a very common mistake!
Once we square the 33, we get color(green)(4(9))4(9). It is obvious that all there is to do now is multiply, leaving a final, simplified answer of color(red)(36)36.
