Hannah R.

asked • 10/23/17

BIDMAS (BODMAS) query

Hello
 
I need help with a maths question.  Two primary schools have given different answers using different methods for the following KS2 maths question so I'm looking for a consensus on the correct answer please.
 
Using BIDMAS (BODMAS) what is the answer to this question?  48-5x12+7
 
Thank you

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Philip P. answered • 10/23/17

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48 - 5x12 + 7
 
There are no brackets and no "orders" (exponents), so next is the multiplication:
 
48 - 5x12 + 7 = 48 - 60 + 7
 
Next are addition and subtraction, in order, left to right:
 
48 - 60 + 7 = -12 + 7 = -5
 
For a clear explanation, visit this website:
 
https://www.mathsisfun.com/operation-order-bodmas.html
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Mark M.

When did parenthesis become brackets and exponents become operations?
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10/23/17

Philip P.

tutor
The "O" actually stands for orders not operations (my bad).  Some sources now use BIDMAS where the I stands for indicies (exponents).  Not sure why or when any of that happened.  Heck, when I went to school we didn't even have PEMDAS; we just learned the order to do things.  We were also taught to avoid possible ambiguity or misinterpretation by using parentheses; i.e. 48 - (5x12) + 5.  I know the extra parentheses are not needed, but they help avoid questions like this one.  ;-)
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10/23/17

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