Order of Operations Worksheets
Solve in the correct order · Grades 2–4
Multi-step expressions where the answer depends on doing the operations in the right order: multiplication and division before addition and subtraction, and brackets before either. Three levels run from chains of one kind (25 − 14 + 43) through mixed precedence (70 − 7 × 9) to four-term expressions with brackets (38 − (80 − 76) × 7). Every step lands on a whole number between 2 and 100, division is always exact, and the answer boxes show how many digits to expect.
Sheets are randomized, free to print, and carry no answer key on purpose – why Super Awesome Math works this way.
How to do it
When an expression mixes operations, the answer depends on the order they are done in: brackets first, then multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction – left to right within each of those.
- Do anything inside brackets first, all of it, before looking at the rest of the expression.
- Then do every multiplication and division, working left to right. In 2 + 3 × 4, the 3 × 4 happens first, giving 2 + 12 = 14 rather than 20.
- Then do every addition and subtraction, again left to right. In 10 − 4 + 3, the subtraction comes first because it is further left: 6 + 3 = 9, not 3.
- Rewrite the whole expression after each step rather than working in your head. One line per step is what makes a mistake findable.
Where it goes wrong
- Working straight through from the left. That is exactly what the rule exists to prevent, and it is what makes 2 + 3 × 4 come out as 20.
- Treating multiplication as outranking division, or addition as outranking subtraction. Within a pair, position decides, not the symbol.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the order of operations?
- Work out anything in brackets first, then all the multiplication and division from left to right, then the addition and subtraction from left to right. It is a convention rather than a discovery: everyone agrees to read 70 − 7 × 9 the same way, so the expression has one answer instead of two.
- Why does my child get 567 for 70 − 7 × 9?
- Because they worked strictly left to right: 70 − 7 is 63, and 63 × 9 is 567. The correct reading multiplies first, giving 70 − 63 = 7. This is the single most common mistake on these sheets, and the fastest cure is asking a child to underline the multiplication before they write anything.
- What do the brackets change?
- Brackets promote whatever is inside them to the front of the queue. 30 − 17 + 9 is 22, but 30 − (17 + 9) is 4, because the bracket makes the addition happen first. Every bracket on these sheets changes the answer, so none of them can be safely ignored.
- Why does each answer have a row of boxes?
- There is one box per digit of the answer, so a child can see whether they are looking for a single digit, a number in the tens, or one in the hundreds. It is a checking aid rather than a hint at the value: an answer that will not fit the boxes is a signal to go back and look at the order again.
Settings
- Level: easy, medium or hard
- Notation: × ÷ or · : signs
- Columns: 1 or 2 per page
- Use brackets, or leave them out
- Print an answer key
Example problems
- 25 − 14 + 43 = □□
- 30 − (17 + 9) = □
- 70 − 7 × 9 = □
- 28 + 12 ÷ 2 = □□