If ‘A’ stands for ‘÷’, ‘B’ stands for ‘×’, ‘C’ stands for ‘+’ and ‘D’ stands…

Concept: In a symbol-substitution (operator-coding) question, each given letter is only a disguised name for an arithmetic operator. Replacing the letters changes the symbols that are written, never the order in which the operations must be carried out.

So the decoded expression is still evaluated by the BODMAS/PEMDAS rule: brackets and orders first, then division and multiplication scanned from left to right, and only after that addition and subtraction scanned from left to right.

Application to this equation:

1. Replace every letter by the operator it stands for — A → ÷, B → ×, C → +, D → −. The coded equation 36 B 3 C 18 D 16 A 2 therefore reads 36 × 3 + 18 − 16 ÷ 2.

2. Carry out multiplication and division first, scanning from left to right: 36 × 3 = 108, and 16 ÷ 2 = 8. The expression reduces to 108 + 18 − 8.

3. Now carry out addition and subtraction, again from left to right: 108 + 18 = 126, and then 126 − 8 = 118.

Cross-check:

• Writing the higher-precedence steps inside brackets makes the same reading explicit: (36 × 3) + 18 − (16 ÷ 2) = 108 + 18 − 8 = 118.

• Evaluating blindly from left to right instead would give ((36 × 3 + 18) − 16) ÷ 2 = 55, a value that is not offered here — a reminder that decoding the symbols never licenses dropping BODMAS.

Hence the decoded equation evaluates to 118.