Prefix/Infix/Postfix Notation

One commonly writes arithmetic expressions, such as 3 + 4 * (5 - 2) in infix

notation which means that the operator is placed in between the two
operands. In this example, the answer is 15 because the order of
operations is used which most people remember as PEMDAS. In other
words, evaluation is dependent on the precedence of the operators and the
location of parentheses. Two alternative formats, prefix and postfix, have
been developed to make evaluation more mechanical and hence, solvable
by a computer algorithm. The expression 3 + 2 * 4 equals 11 because we
use the order of operations, but without that rule, it could also equal 5 * 4 =
20 by doing each operation left to right. As you will see later, there is only
one possible way to evaluate a prefix or postfix expression and no order of
operations rule is necessary.

Mathematical Expressions

Mathematical expressions include unary operators, binary operators, and

even ternary operators based on the number of operands needed. On a
calculator, the ± or √ keys are unary operators because they are performed
on a single operand. For this topic we will use the following binary
operators only: + (add), - (subtract), * (multiply), / (divide). and ^
(exponents). Answers do not have to be integers, but all operands will be
one-digit integers so spacing is not confusing. Prefix notation places each
operator before its operands and postfix places each operator after its
operands. All operators are considered binary operators because they
operate on exactly two numbers at a time. The example above becomes “+
3 * 4 - 5 2” in prefix notation and “3 4 5 2 - * +“ in postfix notation. In all
notations, the relative order of the operands is the same. For example,
because addition and subtraction are done left to right, two operands at a
time, 3 + 9 + 7 = “3 9 + 7 +”. The following are equivalent, but not exact
translations: “3 9 7 + +”, “9 3 + 7 +”, or “3 7 + 9 +”.

Because this is the Elementary Division and 3rd graders have not been
exposed to much division or exponents, we will guarantee that all division is
by 1 which does not change the number or by 2 which means to simply
take half of the number and all powers are 1 which means to simply use the
number itself or 2 which means to multiply the number by itself. Exponents
can be written as either 4 ^ 2 or 42. Therefore, using the above concepts,
here is the way to evaluate the following two expressions using PEMDAS:
A.​ 7 * 3 – 6 / 2 + 4 ^ 2 = 21 - 3 + 16 = 34
B.​ (32 - 2 * 3 + 8 / 2)2 = (9 - 6 + 4)2 = 72 = 7 * 7 = 49
Translating from Infix to Prefix or Postfix

A simple method of translating an expression from infix to prefix is to figure

out the order in which each operation is done using PEMDAS. For each
pair of operands, put the operator before the two operands so that the
operands are in the same order. To translate from infix to postfix, put the
operator after the two operands so that the operands are in the same order.
The expression 3 + 2 *4 is written as “+ 3 * 2 4” in prefix or it is written as “3
2 4 * +” in postfix.

Therefore, in expression A from above, the steps would be as follows:

Prefix:​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Postfix:
7 * 3 – 6 / 2 + 4 ^ 2​ ​ ​ 7*3–6/2+4^2
(* 7 3) – (/ 6 2) + (^ 4 2)​ ​ (7 3 *) – (6 2 /) + (4 2 ^)
(– * 7 3 / 6 2) + (^ 4 2)​ ​ ​ (7 3 * 6 2 / –) + (4 2 ^)
+ – * 7 3 / 6 2 ^ 4 2​ ​ ​ 73*62/–42^+

All operands must be in the same order as the original infix expression.
Parentheses are provided for clarity only and are not in the final answer.

Here is another example from expression B that was used above:

Prefix:​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Postfix:
2
(3 – 2 * 3 + 8 / 2) ^ 2​ ​ ​ (32 – 2 * 3 + 8 / 2) ^ 2
​ ((^ 3 2) – (* 2 3) + (/ 8 2)) ^ 2​​ ((3 2 ^) – (2 3 *) + (8 2 /)) ^ 2
​ ((– ^ 3 2 * 2 3) + (/ 8 2)) ^ 2​ ​ ((3 2 ^ 2 3 * –) + (8 2 /)) ^ 2
​ (+ – ^ 3 2 * 2 3 / 8 2) ^ 2​ ​ (3 2 ^ 2 3 * – 8 2 / +) ^ 2
^ + – ^ 3 2 * 2 3 / 8 2 2​​ ​ 32^23*–82/+2^

Evaluating a Prefix or Postfix Expression

Some of the very first scientific calculators used postfix notation (also
known as Polish and Reverse Polish notation for the Polish logician Jan
Lukasiewicz) because of how easy it was to evaluate an expression. Every
time you get to an operator, you simply perform that operation on the two
previous results and keep the answer. In expression A above, the process
in both postfix and postfix is as follows:

Prefix:​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Postfix:
+ – * 7 3 / 6 2 ^ 4 2​ ​ ​ 73*62/–42^+
+ – (7 * 3) (6 / 2) (4 ^ 2)​ ​ (7 * 3) (6 / 2) – (4 ^ 2) +
+ – 21 3 16​​ ​ ​ ​ 21 3 – 16 +
+ (21 – 3) 16​ ​ ​ ​ (21 – 3) 16 +
+ 18 16​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 18 16 +
 18 + 16 = 34​ ​ ​ ​ 18 + 16 = 34

Therefore, evaluating from prefix or postfix uses the same steps in reverse
by doing two operands and an operator at a time. Here is the process for
expression B:

Prefix:​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Postfix:
^ + – ^ 3 2 * 2 3 / 8 2 2​​ ​ 32^23*– 82/+2^
^ + – (3 ^ 2) (2 * 3) (8 / 2) 2​ ​ (3 ^ 2) (2 * 3) – (8 / 2) + 2 ^
^ + – 9 6 4 2​ ​ ​ ​ 96–4+2^
^ + (9 – 6) 4 2​ ​ ​ ​ (9 – 6) 4 + 2 ^
^ + 3 4 2​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 34+2^
^ (3 + 4) 2​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (3 + 4) 2 ^
^ 7 2​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 72^
7 ^ 2 = 49​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 7 ^ 2 = 49

References

Prefix notation Facts for Kids

Postfix notation Facts for Kids
Overview - Infix, Postfix and Prefix
YouTube Video - Prefix, Infix, Postfix
Sample Problems

Evaluate the postfix 3 4 + = 3 + 4 = 7 and 7 2 – = 7 – 2 = 5.

expression: Therefore, 7 5 * = 7 * 5 = 35.

34+72–*

Evaluate the following First, 7 4 – = 7 – 4 = 3 and 3 1 + = 3 + 1) = 4.

postfix expression: Then 3 2 ^ = 3 ^ 2 = 9 and 9 4 * = 36.
Finally, 36 6 – = 36 – 6 = 30.
74–2^31+*6–

Translate the following infix (6 + 4) / (7 – 5) * 3 ^ 2

expression into prefix. (+ 6 4) / (– 7 5) * (^ 3 2)
(/ + 6 4 – 7 5) * (^ 3 2)
(6 + 4) / (7 – 5) * 3 ^ 2 */+64–75^32

Translate the following infix The expression converts as follows:

expression into postfix. (9 – 8 / 2 + 5) ^ 2
(9 – (8 2 /) + 5) ^ 2
(9 – 8 / 2 + 5) ^ 2 ((9 8 2 / –) + 5) ^ 2
(9 8 2 / – 5 +) ^ 2
982/–5+2^

Evaluate the following Since, 6 2 – = 6 – 2 = 4 and 3 1 / = 3 / 1 = 3,

postfix expression: the expression is 4 2 ^ 2 / 9 3 – + 2 *.
Since 4 2 ^ = 4 ^ 2 = 16 and 9 3 – = 9 – 3 = 6,
62–2^2/931/–+2* the expression is 16 2 / 6 + 2 *.
Since 16 / 2 = 8, it becomes 8 6 + 2 *.
Therefore, 8 6 + = 8 + 6 = 14.
Finally, 14 2 * = 14 * 2 = 28.
Evaluate the following prefix + ^ / + 7 5 – 6 4 2 3
expression: + ^ / (+ 7 5) (– 6 4) 2 3
+ ^ / 12 2 2 3
+^/+75–6423 + ^ (12 / 2) 2 3
+^623
+ (6 ^ 2) 3
+ 36 3 = 36 + 3 = 39

Evaluate the following prefix Convert to infix:

expression: –^/++462–4129
– ^ / + (4 + 6) 2 (4 – 2) 2 9
–^/++462–4129 – ^ / + 10 2 2 2 9
– ^ / (+ 10 2) 2 2 9
– ^ / 12 2 2 9
– ^ (12 / 2) 2 9
– ^ 6 2 9 = – (6 ^ 2) 9
– 36 9 = 36 – 9 = 27

Evaluate the following prefix – + ^ / 6 2 2 7 ^ – 5 2 1

expressions: – + ^ (6 / 2) 2 7 ^ (5 – 2) 1
–+^327^31
–+^/6227^–521 – + (3 ^ 2) 7 (3 ^ 1)
–+973
– (9 + 7) 3 = – 16 3 = 13

Translate the following infix ((7 + 5) / (6 – 4)) ^ 2 + 3

expression to postfix: ((7 5 +) / (6 4 – )) ^ 2 + 3
(7 5 + 6 4 – /) ^ 2 + 3
((7 + 5) / (6 – 4)) ^ 2 + 3 (7 5 + 6 4 – / 2 ^) + 3
75+64–/2^3+
Translate the following infix ((5 – 3) * 5 + (9 – 3) / 3) ^ 2
expression into prefix. ((– 5 3) * 5 + (– 9 3) / 3) ^ 2
((* – 5 3 5) + (/ – 9 3 3)) ^ 2
((5 – 3) * 5 + (9 – 3) / 3) ^ 2 (+ * – 5 3 5 / – 9 3 3) ^ 2
^+*–535/–9332

Translate the following ^+*–535/–9332

prefix expression to a ^ + * (5 – 3) 5 / (9 – 3) 3 2
postfix expression: ^ + ((5 – 3) * 5) ((9 – 3) / 3) 2
^ (((5 – 3) * 5) + ((9 – 3) / 3)) 2
^+*–535/–9332 (((5 – 3) * 5) + ((9 – 3) / 3)) ^ 2
(((5 3 –) * 5) + ((9 3 –) / 3)) ^ 2
((5 3 – 5 *) + (9 3 – 3 /)) ^ 2
(5 3 – 5 * 9 3 – 3 / +) ^ 2
53–5*93–3/+2^

Translate the following 75+64–/2^3+

postfix expression to a (+ 7 5) (– 6 4) / 2 ^ 3 +
prefix expression: (/ (+ 7 5) (– 6 4)) 2 ^ 3 +
(^ (/ (+ 7 5) (– 6 4)) 2) 3 +
75+64–/2^3+ +^/+75–6423