IXL | Identify mistakes involving the order of operations

Sophie tried to evaluate an expression. Here is her work:

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

175

Step 5

Is Sophie's work correct?

No, Sophie made a mistake going from Step 1 to Step 2. Sophie should have multiplied 9 and 2 before dividing. The order of operations says to multiply before you divide.

No, Sophie made a mistake going from Step 3 to Step 4. Sophie should have multiplied 7 and 6 before adding. The order of operations says to multiply before you add.

Yes, Sophie's work is correct.

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Learn with an example

question

Valeria tried to evaluate an expression. Here is her work:

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Is Valeria's work correct?

No, Valeria made a mistake going from the given expression to Step 1. Valeria should have multiplied 4 by 4 instead of evaluating the exponent. The order of operations says to multiply before you evaluate exponents.

No, Valeria made a mistake going from Step 1 to Step 2. Valeria should have divided 12 by 4 before adding. The order of operations says to divide before you add.

Yes, Valeria's work is correct.

key idea

To evaluate an expression with multiple operations, you can follow the order of

operations:

Perform operations inside parentheses and brackets. Start with the operations in the inner parentheses or brackets, evaluating the expression from the inside out.
Evaluate the exponents.
Multiply and divide from left to right.
Add and subtract from left to right.

solution

Valeria made a mistake going from Step 1 to Step 2. She added instead of dividing.

Step 1

Step 2

The order of operations says to divide before adding. Here is the work that Valeria should have done.

Evaluate the exponent

Divide

Multiply

Add

Looking for more? Try these:

Lesson: Order of operations

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Teacher tools

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Not feeling ready yet? These can help:

E.7Evaluate numerical expressions involving whole numbers

H.6Identify mistakes involving the order of operations

Lesson: Order of operations

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