Grade 5 · Unit 4: Patterns and algebra

Order of operations and negative numbers

Which comes first? And below zero.

Calculators agree

What is 3 + 4 × 2? Some say 14, some say 11. Mathematicians agree on an order of operations: the answer is 11.

BIDMAS

3 + 4 × 2 = 3 + 8 = 11. (3 + 4) × 2 = 7 × 2 = 14. Brackets change the order.

Negative numbers

Negative numbers are less than 0. −7 < −2 because −7 is further left. The difference between −7 and 3 is 10.

Adding and subtracting integers

Adding moves right; subtracting moves left. 4 − 9 = −5. −3 + 8 = 5.

What I learnt

• I can use the order of operations.
• I can order and calculate with negative numbers.