Order of operations: An introduction with examples
In mathematics, order of operations is a term that defines the sequence of arithmetic operations. Order of operations plays a very important role in daily life calculations. It was introduced to get rid of the calculators, it was introduced in 1912, in first-year Algebra by Webster Wells and Walter Wilson Hart.
They indicated the direction of the arithmetic operations to be performed i.e., left to right. All multiplications and divisions are to be performed first and after that perform all the additions and subtractions.
There are different orders of operation like BEDMAS, PEMDAS, BIDMAS, and BODMAS. In this article, we will discuss all types of orders of operations, we will discuss their work with the help of examples, and will study the history of these orders of operations.
| Or of operations: An introduction with examples |
What is the order of operations?
“In mathematics and computer programming, the order of operations is a collection of rules that reflect conventions about which procedures to perform first to evaluate a given mathematical expression.”
Basic operations in arithmetic:
In arithmetic, there are six operations that we usually see in different arithmetic problems these operations are the base of arithmetic. The concept of “order of operations” is based on these six operators.
Brackets / Parenthesis
Addition
Subtraction
Multiplication
Division
Exponents / Orders
The above operations are the base of this concept, people of different countries had made different rules by changing the sequence of these operators.
Rules of the order of operations
The commonly used rules of the order of operations are given below:
BODMAS Rule
PEMDAS Rule
1. BODMAS Rule
This rule of order of operation is commonly used in the sub-continent or south Asia i.e. Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.
The abbreviation of BODMAS is “Brackets, Order, Division or Multiplication, Addition or Subtraction.” BODMAS was introduced by “Achilles Reselfelt” in the early 18th century. All the other rules/ types are discovered after this rule.
Examples: The following examples will help you to learn the concept of this topic in a better way.
Example 1
Evaluate 20 × 8 - 4 × (8² ÷ 8) ÷ 4 ÷ 2/4 + 18
Solution
Step-1: Make the expression linear i.e., 82 = 64
= 20 × 8 - 4 × (64 ÷ 8) ÷ 4 ÷ 2/4 + 18
Step-2: Solve the bracket i.e. (64 ÷ 8) = 8
= 20 × 8 - 4 × (8) ÷ 4 ÷ 2/4 + 18
Step-3: Evaluate the first multiplication or division operator on the very left side.
Note: If the Division operator comes first then we will perform the Division first but, in this question, the Multiplication operator appears before the Division operation so we have to calculate it first. i.e., 20 × 8 =160
= 160 - 4 × (8) ÷ 4 ÷ 2/4 + 18
Step-4: Repeat Step-3 until the last division or multiplication operator is expelled.
= 160 – 32 ÷ 4 ÷ 2/4 + 18
Step-5: Simplify the fraction i.e., 2/4 = 1/2
= 160 – 8 ÷ 1/2 + 18
Step-6: Repeat Step-3
= 160 - 16 + 18
Step-7: Perform Addition or Subtraction from the left side.
Note: If the Addition operator comes first then we will perform the Addition first but in this question, the subtraction operator appears before the Addition operation so we have to solve it first. i.e. 160 – 16 = 144
= 144 + 18
Step-8: Repeat step-7.
= 162 Answer.
2. PEMDAS Rule
The word PEMDAS stands for “Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication or Division, Addition or subtraction.” This is the second most commonly used order of operations. This term is variously used in France and US.
In schools, the teachers use a mnemonic code for PEMDAS to make it easier for the students, so that they can learn it easily. The mnemonic used for PEMDAS is "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally". PEMDAS was firstly used in 1838, the most surprising thing is that military engineers invented this rule.
Now have a look at the example given below to understand it precisely.
Example
Evaluate 30 × 12 - 8 × (12² ÷ 12) ÷ 8 ÷ 4/8 + 30
Solution
Step-1: Make the expression linear i.e., 122 = 144
= 30 × 12 - 8 × (144 ÷ 12) ÷ 8 ÷ 4/8 + 30
Step-2: Solve the parenthesis i.e. (144 ÷ 12) = 12
= 30 × 12 – 8 × (12) ÷ 4 ÷ 4/8 + 30
Step-3: Evaluate the first multiplication or division operator on the very left side.
= 360 – 8 × (12) ÷ 4 ÷ 4/8 + 30
Step-4: Repeat Step-3 until the last division or multiplication operator is expelled.
= 360 – 96 ÷ 4 ÷ 4/8 + 30
Step-5: Simplify the fraction i.e., 4/8 = 1/2
= 360 – 24 ÷ 1/2 + 30
Step-6: Repeat Step-3
= 360 - 48 + 30
Step-7: Perform Addition or Subtraction from the left side.
= 312 + 30
= 342 Answer.
The problems of PEMDAS rule can be solved by using a PEMDAS calculator to get the solution with steps.
Summary:
In this article, we have studied the basic theory of order of operations. We learned different rules and operators. You have witnessed that order of operations is not a difficult topic, by reading this article carefully you will be able to solve all the questions (related to the order of operations) easily.