Logic Masters · Ages 11 to 12
BIDMAS Order of Operations
Apply BIDMAS with brackets and indices. Five levels of printable practice with answer keys.
The learning journey
Every activity is one step. Here is where this one fits.
- PlayLearn the idea in a game
- Practise(you are here)Lock it in on paper
- ReviewCome back and keep it sharp
- MasterTake on a harder challenge
- AchieveEarn a certificate
About BIDMAS Order of Operations
BIDMAS is the convention that makes a written expression mean one thing rather than several — brackets, indices, division and multiplication, addition and subtraction. Pupils generally recite it correctly and still apply it wrongly, because the acronym describes precedence while an expression is read left to right, and the two orders disagree exactly where mistakes happen. This worksheet takes the structures one at a time so those disagreements are met deliberately. Brackets first, where the order is signposted. Then expressions where multiplication must be resolved before an addition that appears earlier on the line. Then division with subtraction, then indices, and finally expressions combining all of them. Every expression is assembled from its parts and evaluated by the same code that assembles it, so what is printed and what the key states cannot diverge — no expression is ever parsed back out of a string, which is precisely how a worksheet ends up with an answer that applies the operations in a different order from the one shown. Divisions are built from their quotients, so none produces a fraction. Twelve questions per page. Each level prints cleanly in black and white and downloads with its own separate answer key.
Common questions
- Why do pupils who know BIDMAS still get it wrong?
- The acronym describes precedence while an expression is read left to right. Mistakes happen exactly where those two orders disagree.
- Do any questions produce a fraction?
- No. Every division is built from its quotient, so all of them are exact.
- When do indices appear?
- From the fourth level, once brackets and the multiplication and division steps are secure.
- Is this the same as PEMDAS?
- It is the same convention under the UK and Australian name, which is the terminology this worksheet uses throughout.
A hand for grown-ups
- Before you start
- These need thinking time, not speed. Set the expectation that a good puzzle is meant to take a while.
- While they work
- Resist jumping in. A long pause is a child thinking, not a child stuck — give it room before offering a nudge.
- Afterwards
- Ask "how did you work that out?" more than "is it right?". The reasoning is the skill; the answer is just the evidence.
- Watch out for
- Guessing to escape the discomfort of not knowing. Reassure them that being stuck for a bit is normal and fine.
- Away from the screen
- Play strategy games, do puzzles, ask "what comes next?" with patterns of objects. Reasoning is a muscle.
Where to go next
Chosen by the skills this activity practises.