Order of Operations

Welcome to the lesson – Order of Operations! Play the video below to get started. Then, keep scrolling to start practicing. Brian will walk you through the solution to each problem in the video that follows it. Happy studying!

Learning Goals:

• Solve Expressions with multiple steps using order of operations
• Justify the use of order of operations

Why is this skill important to know?

Understanding the correct order to follow when calculating an expression or equation is the key to arriving at the correct answer. If you do not follow the correct order when calculating, you may arrive at an incorrect answer! 

Key Vocabulary:

• Order of Operations – a set of rules to determine which order you should calculate pieces of an expression or equation
• Expression – a collection of numbers and symbols that show a math problem without an equal sign
• Equation – a collection of numbers that show a math problem using an equal sign
• Exponents – stands for repeated multiplication and is shown in superscript next to the base number

Key Points:

1) Follow the Order of Operations

• PEMDAS – “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally”

• Parentheses
• Exponents
• Multiplication / Division (whichever comes first, left to right)
• Addition/ Subtraction (whichever comes first, left to right)

2) Without PEMDAS, there could be multiple answers to the same problem.
3) Make sure to track your work after each step.

Practice Problems

Try solving each problem below, check your answer, then play the video to see a step-by-step walkthrough of the solution.

Practice Problem #1

8 – 5 + 6 – 4

Practice Problem #2:

15 ÷ 5 × 6 ÷ 9

Practice Problem #3:

4 × 6 – 8 ÷ 4

Practice Problem #4:

(8 + 7) ÷ 3 – 1 × 4

Practice Problem #5:

7 + 6² – 5

Practice Problem #6:

(4 + 6)² ÷ (5 × 4)

What’s Next?

Click the quiz link below to practice this skill with realistic questions aligned to the TEAS 7 exam.