This is the third of our worksheets on the order of calculations for Year 6 children, introducing the idea that an expression or row of questions needs to be carried out in a set order so that everyone reaches the same answer.
This page concentrates on brackets.
The first four questions have a single set of brackets, which should be worked out first.
Questions 5 to 10 have two sets of brackets to work out. It is best to encourage a systematic approach, putting in the steps such as:
(4 + 2) x (3 – 1) = 6 x 2 = 12.
Why not just put in the answer? because if an answer is wrong it is much easier to see where the mistake has been made and later at High School students need to show all their working out.
Finally there are a set of expressions which will only be correct if a pair of brackets are entered in the right places.