What is the answer to this equation

[TravellingSpoon]

Oh clever Mumsnet maths bods, please help those less fortunate than yourselves and help me answer this equation

12 + 4 x (16-12) - 8 / 2.

I am trying to brush up my maths skills as I have a university interview in a couple of weeks which includes a maths test. I did a practice and this was one of the questions. I put an answer (too scared to say what it was) but have no idea if it was right.

20?

I think 24, but I'm probably wrong

I thought 28, excel said 24

If you use BODMAS the answer is 24.

BODMAS

Do the brackets first : 16-12 = 4

Then do the multiplication and division

4 x 4 = 16

8/2 = 4

Then the addition and subtraction

12 + 16 - 4 = 24

24

You have to use BODMAS

This will help you to remember...

www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zsnycdm/revision/1

You would have done it at school.

24

You need an acronym BIDMAS

Complete the Bracket first
Then any Indices (there aren't any)
Division next
Multiplication
Addition
Subtraction

12 + 4 x (16-12) - 8 / 2

B: 12 + 4 x 4 - 8 / 2
D: 12 + 4 x 4 - 4
M: 12 + 16 - 4
A: 28 - 4
= 24

Having said that I can almost 100% guarantee I made an error somewhere

Ooh!

All those years spent teaching math notation I wasn't taught at school paid off

You can do multiplication and division in whichever order makes the calculation easiest. The same with addition and subtraction.

I don't get BODMAS so I made it 28 but I think 24 is the right answer - just posting in case you also said 28 and wanted some comforting company!

I'm sure back when I did maths you did things in brackets first and then worked from left to right!

Ah I did the /2 at the end.

All those years spent teaching math notation I wasn't taught at school paid off

You would have been taught it as the order of operations. BIDMAS/BODMAS/pedmas/whatever is just a way of remembering which order then go in.

I don't get BODMAS

What is it that you find tricky about it? There’s a good link (posted by me 😇 earlier) that might help.

You would have done it at school. The problem for some of us oldy'uns us math is written differently these days. Because if computer language everything is written on one line and BIDMAS rules all.

Pre computers we were taught notation that could include many super/sub levels and you had to start/end quite differently. Mainly, once you had unpacked the sum you started at the left and wrote the answer after =

So many if us oldy'uns who did O levels and haven't revisited math skills nice get most question wrong these days!

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz for your calculation, you’d need to add brackets...

(12 + 4 x (16-12) - 8) / 2.

Or see it written as

12 + 4 x (16-12)
2

Which doesn’t display very well on here?

Yep! That's how I would have written it and perfectly shows why notation has changed.

The problem for some of us oldy'uns us math is written differently these days.

I am also an old ‘un. The order of operations is as old as the hills. It’s always been on the gcse/o level/whatever preceeded the o level. It just wasn’t taught using the acronyms.

What do you mean by “unpacked” the calculation?

Sorry 24

24

Bodmas

16-12 = 4 x 4 =16 + 12 = 28 - 4 = 24

Unpacked = order of operations.

I'd never heard of the various acronyms before I started teaching functional skills. It wasn't hard to get my head round it but DH, old fashioned engineer, is constantly hitting a brick wall with scopes of work generated by non engineers who rely on 'gap fill' computer programmes

I only heard of BODMAS within the last few years and can't remember what I was taught in respect of the order of operations.

I learned Bodmas in the 80s in primary school in Ireland.