PEMDAS Worksheet
PEMDAS practice sheets with parentheses, exponents and the left-to-right rule, plus an answer key labelled in PEMDAS words.
What PEMDAS stands for
Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction. Many classes remember it as “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally”.
The letters hide one trap: M and D are one step, and so are A and S. Within a step you work from left to right. The answer key on every PEMDAS sheet says “left to right” whenever that rule decides which operation goes first.
The order, in PEMDAS words
- PParentheses
- EExponents
- MDMultiply and divide, left to right
- ASAdd and subtract, left to right
Simplify each expression. Work inside parentheses first, then exponents, then multiply and divide from left to right, then add and subtract from left to right.
Worked examples
From a PEMDAS sheet, solved the way the answer key shows them:
- 33 − (16 − 11)2 + 15 = 23
- Parentheses: 16 − 11 = 533 − 52 + 15
- Exponents: 5² = 2533 − 25 + 15
- Subtract (left to right): 33 − 25 = 88 + 15
- Add: 8 + 15 = 2323
- 6 × (15 − 7) × 23 + 11 = 395
- Parentheses: 15 − 7 = 86 × 8 × 23 + 11
- Exponents: 2³ = 86 × 8 × 8 + 11
- Multiply (left to right): 6 × 8 = 4848 × 8 + 11
- Multiply: 48 × 8 = 384384 + 11
- Add: 384 + 11 = 395395
- (23 ÷ 4) − 1 = 1
- Parentheses, exponents: 2³ = 8(8 ÷ 4) − 1
- Parentheses: 8 ÷ 4 = 22 − 1
- Subtract: 2 − 1 = 11
More worksheets
Questions
In PEMDAS, does multiplication come before division?
No. Multiplication and division share one step and are done from left to right, whichever comes first. The same goes for addition and subtraction. So 24 ÷ 4 × 2 is 12, not 3. BODMAS lists D before M for the same reason PEMDAS lists M before D: a mnemonic needs some order.
Do PEMDAS, GEMDAS and BODMAS give different answers?
No. They are three names for the same rules. PEMDAS says parentheses, GEMDAS says grouping symbols, BODMAS says brackets and orders. Every problem on this site has one answer whichever name you pick; only the words in the instructions and the answer-key labels change.
What can I do for free?
Make 3 new worksheets a day with up to 20 problems each, print them, save them as PDF or download them as HTML. Free sheets carry a small footer line, and the answer key shows every final answer plus step-by-step work for the first 3 problems. No account is needed.
What is the sheet code?
Each worksheet prints a short code such as P6IE-20-1ABC2D. It stores the convention, grade, options, problem count and the random seed. Type it into the Sheet code box and press Load to get the identical sheet and key again, for example to reprint for another class.
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