Section 1 Non-Calculator Arithmetic

1.1 Orders of Operations

What a nice, fun start to the book — no calculators allowed. It’s all about adding, subtracting,
multiplying and dividing, but the trick is knowing how to do it all in the right order.

Learning Objective — Spec Ref N3:

Know the correct order in which to apply operations, including dealing with brackets.

Operations in mathematics are things like addition, subtraction, Tip: The ‘Other’
multiplication and division. The order in which each of these operations are things
is carried out within a calculation is very important. like powers or roots
— see Section 3.
BODMAS tells you the correct order to carry out these operations.
Brackets, Other, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction
If there are two or more consecutive divisions and/or multiplications (e.g. 3 × 6 ÷ 9 × 5),
they should be done in order, from left to right. The same goes for addition and subtraction.

Example 1

Work out 20 – 3 × (4 + 2).

1. There are Brackets, so do that operation first. 20 – 3 × (4 + 2) = 20 – 3 × 6
2. There are no ‘Other’ operations.
3. There is no Division.
4. There is Multiplication, so do that operation next. 20 – 3 × 6 = 20 – 18
5. There is no Addition.
6. There is Subtraction, so do that operation next. 20 – 18 = 2

Exercise 1
Q1 Work out the following.
a) 5 + 1 × 3 b) 11 – 2 × 5 c) 24 ÷ 4 + 2 d) 18 – 10 ÷ 5

Q2 Work out the following.

a) 6 × (4 + 3) b) 11 – (2 + 3) c) (8 – 7) × (6 + 5) d) 56 ÷ (2 × 4)

2 Section 1 Non-Calculator Arithmetic