The REAL Order of Operations

When To Do What?

One of the confusing things for new students about math is that we DON'T necessarily work math problems from left to right. Instead, ANY TIME there is more than one operation in an expression, we follow the order of operations.

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LEARN IT

There are 4 steps to the Order of Operations (Not Six!)

Groupings (such as parenthesis, brackets, the insides of square roots, and the two natural groupings formed by the numerator and denominator of a fraction)
Exponents (powers and their roots)
Multiplication and its inverse, division
Addition and its inverse, subtraction

Watch the Virtual GED Class video below for a complete explanation and tons of worked example problems.

PRACTICE IT

Beginning

Order of Ops flash cards

This Quizlet set gives practice with straightforward two and three operations.

Order of Ops Extended Worksheet

Printable worksheet featuring plenty of practice problems for the struggling student as well as color-coded worked solutions to help students identify the type of errors they are making.

Experienced

Whole Number Challenge

A mix of straightforward and challenging expressions featuring whole numbers.

Order of Ops: Negatives

The GED loves slipping negatives into these types of problems. If you have experience performing computations with integers, this worksheet gives you a mix of order of operations with integers.

Advanced

GED Style OOO Worksheet

Challenging multi-step expressions with integers, absolute values, and cube roots. Do your work by hand, then check your answers with your calculator.

OOO Clock Project

Challenge advanced students to prepare for college with this printable activity where they write their own expressions to simplify.