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🧮 BODMAS Rule Explained with Examples
Is 6 + 4 × 2 equal to 20 or 14? Everyone in the world needs to get the same answer, so mathematicians agree on an order for operations. In India this is usually taught as BODMAS.
What BODMAS stands for
- Brackets
- Orders (powers and roots) — also "Of"
- Division and Multiplication
- Addition and Subtraction
In the USA the same idea is called PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication/Division, Addition/Subtraction).
The rule most people get wrong
Division and multiplication have equal priority — do whichever comes first from left to right. The same is true for addition and subtraction.
24 ÷ 4 × 2 = 6 × 2 = 12 (not 24 ÷ 8 = 3).
10 − 3 + 2 = 7 + 2 = 9 (not 10 − 5 = 5).
Worked examples
- 6 + 4 × 2 = 6 + 8 = 14
- (6 + 4) × 2 = 10 × 2 = 20
- 3 + 2² × 5 = 3 + 4 × 5 = 3 + 20 = 23
- 48 ÷ (2 + 6) − 3 = 48 ÷ 8 − 3 = 6 − 3 = 3
- ½ of 20 + 5 = 10 + 5 = 15 ("of" means multiply and is done early)
Nested brackets
Work from the innermost bracket outwards: 2 × [3 + (8 − 2) ÷ 3] = 2 × [3 + 6 ÷ 3] = 2 × [3 + 2] = 2 × 5 = 10.
Practice questions
- 18 − 6 ÷ 3 × 2 → 18 − 2 × 2 = 18 − 4 = 14
- (5 + 3)² ÷ 4 → 64 ÷ 4 = 16
- 7 + 3 × (10 − 4) ÷ 2 → 7 + 3 × 6 ÷ 2 = 7 + 9 = 16
- 100 ÷ 5 ÷ 2 → 20 ÷ 2 = 10
Olympiad papers often hide BODMAS inside symbol puzzles ("if + means ×…"). Practise those in the Olympiad Prep logical reasoning section, and order of operations in School Maths.
Quick answers
What is the BODMAS rule?
The order for solving expressions: Brackets, Orders (powers and roots), Division and Multiplication (left to right), then Addition and Subtraction (left to right).
Is multiplication done before division in BODMAS?
No. Multiplication and division have equal priority, so you do them in the order they appear from left to right. The same applies to addition and subtraction.
Is BODMAS the same as PEMDAS?
Yes. They are two names for the same order of operations; PEMDAS is common in the USA and BODMAS in India and the UK.