Addition and subtraction in the order of operations

Addition and subtraction are the third and final stage in the order of operations, immediately after multiplication and division and after opening the initial parentheses.

The first stage:

Opening parentheses and solving everything inside them.
If multiplication and division appear along with addition and subtraction, multiplication and division come first, followed by addition and subtraction from left to right.
Then we rewrite the expression without parentheses.

The second stage:

Multiplication and division in order, from left to right.
We will rewrite the new exercise after solving the multiplication and division.

The Third Stage:

Addition and subtraction in order.
We add and subtract from left to right.
Note - even within parentheses we will follow the correct order of operations - first multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction.

Visual breakdown of BODMAS/PEMDAS rules for solving mathematical expressions: Brackets/Parentheses, Order/Exponents, Division/Multiplication, and Addition/Subtraction, designed for simplifying complex arithmetic operations.

Practice Addition and subtraction

Examples with solutions for Addition and subtraction

Exercise #1

9+31= 9+3-1=

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

According to the rules of the order of arithmetic operations, we will work to solve the exercise from left to right:

9+3=11

11-1=10

 

And this is the solution!

Answer

11 11

Exercise #2

3+21= 3+2-1=

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

According to the rules of the order of operations, given that the exercise only involves subtraction and addition operations, we solve the exercise from left to right:

3+2=5 3+2=5

51=4 5-1=4

Answer

4 4

Exercise #3

6+58= ? 6+5-8=\text{ ?}

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

Add first: 6+5=11 6 + 5 = 11 .

Then, subtract: 118=3 11 - 8 = 3 .

The correct answer is 3 3 .

Answer

3 3

Exercise #4

5+93= ? 5+9-3=\text{ ?}

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

First, add 5 and 9 to get 14.

5+9=145 + 9 = 14

Then, subtract 3 from 14 to get 11.

143=1114 - 3 = 11

Answer

1111

Exercise #5

7+52= ? 7+5-2=\text{ ?}

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

First, add 7 and 5 to get 12.

7+5=127 + 5 = 12

Then, subtract 2 from 12 to get 10.

122=1012 - 2 = 10

Answer

1010

Exercise #6

154+3= ? 15-4+3=\text{ ?}

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

First, subtract 4 from 15 to get 11.

154=1115 - 4 = 11

Then, add 3 to 11 to get 14.

11+3=1411 + 3 = 14

Answer

14 14

Exercise #7

86+4= ? 8-6+4=\text{ ?}

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

First, subtract 6 from 8 to get 2.

86=28 - 6 = 2

Then, add 4 to 2 to get 6.

2+4=62 + 4 = 6

Answer

66

Exercise #8

1252=12 - 5 - 2 =

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

First, subtract the second number from the first:

125=712 - 5 = 7

Then, subtract the third number from the result:

72=57 - 2 = 5

So, 1252=512 - 5 - 2 = 5

Answer

5 5

Exercise #9

7+24= ? 7+2-4=\text{ ?}

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

First, we perform the addition: 7+2=9 7 + 2 = 9 .

Next, we do the subtraction: 94=5 9 - 4 = 5 .

Hence, the answer is 5 5 .

Answer

5 5

Exercise #10

4+85= 4 + 8 - 5 =

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

Perform the addition operation first:

4+8=12 4 + 8 = 12

Then subtract 5 from the result:

125=7 12 - 5 = 7

Therefore, the correct answer is:

7

Answer

7

Exercise #11

82+6= 8 - 2 + 6 =

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

Solve the additions and subtractions from left to right:

82=6 8 - 2 = 6

Then add 6:

6+6=12 6 + 6 = 12

Answer

12

Exercise #12

10+17= ? 10+1-7=\text{ ?}

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

Start by adding: 10+1=11 10 + 1 = 11 .

Finally, subtract: 117=4 11 - 7 = 4 .

The solution is 4 4 .

Answer

4 4

Exercise #13

1031=10 - 3 - 1 =

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

Start with the initial expression: 103110 - 3 - 1.

First, subtract 3 from 10: 103=710 - 3 = 7.

Next, subtract 1 from the result: 71=67 - 1 = 6.

Therefore, the final answer is 66.

Answer

6 6

Exercise #14

Solve:

10+53 = 10+5-3\text{ }=

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve 10+53 10+5-3 follow these steps:

1. 10+5=15 10 + 5 = 15

2. 153=12 15 - 3 = 12

So the answer is 12 12 .

Answer

12

Exercise #15

1543=15 - 4 - 3 =

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve 154315 - 4 - 3, follow these steps:

  1. First, subtract 4 from 15: 154=1115 - 4 = 11.

  2. Next, subtract 3 from the result: 113=811 - 3 = 8.

  3. Therefore, the correct answer is 8 8 .

Answer

8 8

Topics learned in later sections

  1. Parentheses