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Concept
Operand
Summary
In mathematics, an operand is the object of a mathematical operation, i.e., it is the object or quantity that is operated on.
The following arithmetic expression shows an example of operators and operands:
In the above example, '+' is the symbol for the operation called addition.
The operand '3' is one of the inputs (quantities) followed by the addition operator, and the operand '6' is the other input necessary for the operation.
The result of the operation is 9. (The number '9' is also called the sum of the augend 3 and the addend 6.)
An operand, then, is also referred to as "one of the inputs (quantities) for an operation".
Operands may be complex, and may consist of expressions also made up of operators with operands.
In the above expression '(3 + 5)' is the first operand for the multiplication operator and '2' the second. The operand '(3 + 5)' is an expression in itself, which contains an addition operator, with the operands '3' and '5'.
Order of operations
Rules of precedence affect which values form operands for which operators:
In the above expression, the multiplication operator has the higher precedence than the addition operator, so the multiplication operator has operands of '5' and '2'. The addition operator has operands of '3' and '5 × 2'.
Depending on the mathematical notation being used the position of an operator in relation to its operand(s) may vary. In everyday usage infix notation is the most common, however other notations also exist, such as the prefix and postfix notations. These alternate notations are most common within computer science.
Below is a comparison of three different notations — all represent an addition of the numbers '1' and '2'
(infix notation)
(prefix notation)
(postfix notation)
Order of operations
In a mathematical expression, the order of operation is carried out from left to right. Start with the leftmost value and seek the first operation to be carried out in accordance with the order specified above (i.e., start with parentheses and end with the addition/subtraction group).
Official source
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