If ‘P’ stands for ‘÷’, ‘Q’ stands for ‘×’, ‘R’ stands for ‘+’ and ‘S’ stands for ‘−’, what will come in place of the question mark (?) in the following equation?

174 P 2 S 45 R (16 P 4) Q 5 S 26 = ?

The correct answer is 36.

Given the symbols and their corresponding mathematical operations:

‘P’ stands for ‘÷’
‘Q’ stands for ‘×’
‘R’ stands for ‘+’
‘S’ stands for ‘-’

The given equation is:

$174\text{ P }2\text{ S }45\text{ R }\left(16\text{ P }4\right)\text{ Q }5\text{ S }26=?$

Substituting the arithmetic operators in place of the letters according to BODMAS rule:

$174÷2-45+(16÷4)\times 5-26$

Step 1: Evaluate the operation within the bracket (B):

$16÷4=4$

The equation becomes:

$174÷2-45+4\times 5-26$

Step 2: Perform Division (D):

$174÷2=87$

Step 3: Perform Multiplication (M):

$4\times 5=20$

Substituting these calculated values back into the expression:

$87-45+20-26$

Step 4: Perform Addition (A) and Subtraction (S) sequentially from left to right:

$87-45=42$

$42+20=62$

$62-26=36$

Hence, the number coming in place of the question mark (?) is 36.