13 - 3 × 4+2 Simple question that lots of people get wrong

Have you heard of the BODMAS / BIDMAS rule? 

This rule changes your answer from 42 to 3 instead. that is because this rule says you need to follow a specific order when calculating. It seems easy but is quite easy to forget since we all want to start with the first number. 

here the BODMAS stands for Brackets, Of/operations, multiplication, addition,Subtraction. if it's BIDMAS = same but I stands for indices. 

So , 

13 - 3 × 4 + 2 

=13 - 12 + 2 (multiply first)

=13 - 10 (add , don't forget its -12 +2)

= 3 (lastly we are subtracting)

SR
Answered by Shanju R. Maths tutor

41799 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Question: Expand (p + 2)(p - 5)


What is mathematics and why should I study it?


Convert 0.1727272... to a fraction in its lowest terms.


3/5 of a number is 162. Work out the number.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning