MathsYears 7–8Number

BIDMAS and order of operations

Apply the correct order of operations (brackets, indices, division, multiplication, addition, subtraction) to multi-step calculations

What you'll learn

  1. 1

    Imagine a maths problem like 3 + 4 × 2. If we just go left to right, we get 14. But that's wrong! 😱

  2. 2

    Which operation comes FIRST in BIDMAS?

  3. 3

    Let's do 3 + 4 × 2 the RIGHT way.

  4. 4

    Try 10 - 6 ÷ 2 — use the number line to help! Tap the right operations in order.

  5. 5

    What is 10 - 6 ÷ 2?

  6. 6

    Now a tricky one: (5 + 3) × 2. Brackets first!

  7. 7

    What comes first in (5 + 3) × 2?

Practise BIDMAS and order of operations with Whizlo

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