Answer
a. The student needs to evaluate what is in parentheses first, according to order of operations. Then, he or she can evaluate the exponent.
b. $25$
Work Step by Step
a. The student needs to evaluate what is in parentheses first, according to order of operations. Then, he or she can evaluate the exponent.
b. Evaluate the expression inside the parentheses first:
$5^{2}$
Now, evaluate the exponent:
$25$
