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Year 7 · Multiplication

Order of operations with brackets

When a sum has several operations, there is a set order: Brackets, then × and ÷, then + and −.

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How to do it

  1. Do anything in brackets first.
  2. Then multiply and divide, left to right.
  3. Then add and subtract, left to right.

Worked example

(2 + 3) × 4 − 1
Brackets first: 2 + 3 = 5. Then 5 × 4 = 20
20 − 1 = 19

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Working left to right without the rule gives 30, which is wrong.

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