onlinetutor.com.au

1. Brackets
All possible actions within brackets should be done first. If there are brackets within brackets, work from the inside brackets out. (Brackets are also known as parentheses.)

2. Exponents
Next, simplify exponents (working from left to right). For example, if the expression contains 3², change it to a 9.

3. Multiplication & Division
Then comes multiplication and division. If there is more than one of these in your expression, work from left to right.

4. Addition & Subtraction
Last is addition and subtraction. Again, if there is more than one of these, work from left to right.