Maths Library

Order of Operations: Year 6 maths

Apply standard precedence rules to evaluate arithmetic expressions involving brackets, powers, and the four operations. Worksheets build confidence from simple two-operation problems to nested expressions.

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What this covers

Order of Operations is taught in Year 6 (age 10 to 11, KS2) as a main teaching focus. It sits in the Number strand.

Worked example

Evaluate 18 - 3 × (2 + 4)

  1. Calculate inside the brackets first: 2 + 4 = 6
  2. Multiply: 3 × 6 = 18
  3. Subtract: 18 - 18 = 0

Answer: 0

Difficulty scale

The sheet generator offers five difficulty settings for this topic.

  1. Expressions with two operations using +, -, and × without brackets
  2. Expressions with brackets and basic four operations
  3. Expressions with multiple operations, brackets, and division
  4. Expressions incorporating exponents (powers) and square roots
  5. Complex expressions with nested brackets and fractional bars

Common mistakes

  • Working strictly left to right regardless of operational hierarchy (e.g. 2 + 3 * 4 = 20)
  • Believing addition must always precede subtraction rather than treating them with equal left-to-right priority

Curriculum links

Indicative matches to National Curriculum for England. Check wording and codes against the official document.

  • Perform mental calculations, including with mixed operations and large numbers, using knowledge of the order of operations.

Sample sheet and answers

Six questions at the level's usual difficulty. Open the editor to change, add or regenerate any of them.

Order of Operations

Year 6 maths

Qs
6
Marks
6
NameDateScore / 6
1.
(8 + 7) × 2 =
[1]
2.
7 + 2 × 9 =
[1]
3.
3 + 9 × 9 =
[1]
4.
8 + 6 × 3 =
[1]
5.
9 + 7 × 3 =
[1]
6.
7 + 6 × 9 =
[1]

Answer key

  1. 30Brackets first: 8 + 7 = 15; Then multiply: 15 × 2 = 30
  2. 25Multiply first: 2 × 9 = 18; Then add: 7 + 18 = 25
  3. 84Multiply first: 9 × 9 = 81; Then add: 3 + 81 = 84
  4. 26Multiply first: 6 × 3 = 18; Then add: 8 + 18 = 26
  5. 30Multiply first: 7 × 3 = 21; Then add: 9 + 21 = 30
  6. 61Multiply first: 6 × 9 = 54; Then add: 7 + 54 = 61