Part 01 · Number and ratio · Card 1 of 9
BIDMAS
The order you work through a calculation: Brackets, Indices (powers), Division and Multiplication, then Addition and Subtraction.
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Analogy
Like a recipe: you cannot ice the cake before you bake it.
Example
Order matters
3 + 4 x 2^2= 3 + 4 x 4= 3 + 16= 19
In practice
Calculators follow BIDMAS, so typing 3 + 4 x 2 gives 11, not 14.
Practice
Flashcards
- In BIDMAS, what is 3 + 4 x 2?11. Multiply first (4 x 2 = 8), then add 3.
Questions people ask
Do multiplication or division come first in BIDMAS?
Neither one is first. Division and multiplication have equal rank, so you work through them from left to right. The same goes for addition and subtraction. For 12 / 3 x 2, you divide first to get 4, then multiply to get 8.
What does the I in BIDMAS stand for?
The I stands for indices, which means powers such as squares and cubes. They come after brackets and before division and multiplication. In 2 + 3^2 you work out 3^2 = 9 first, so the answer is 11, not 25.