BODMAS

BODMAS is the acronym for the order in which arithmetic operations are carried out.

This acronym states that given a problem to solve, work out the: B brackets, M
multiplication, D division, A addition and S subtraction of quantities in that order.

Note: Do multiplication and division, in the order they appear from left to right.

Whole Numbers

This section illustrates how to compute the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of
whole numbers.

Addition

Add the numbers 584 and 646.

Procedure: In addition, we add from right to left. So for the problem above, we start with the
extreme right column. The numbers in that column are 6 and 4; when added 6 + 4 = 10, the zero
is written below the line in the column (extreme right column) and the 1 (highlighted blue) is
added to the numbers in the middle column. Next, the numbers in the middle column, 8 & 4, are
added to 1(highlighted blue); 8 + 4 + 1 = 13. The 3 is written below the line in the middle
column and the 1 (highlighted red) is added to the numbers in the left column. Lastly, the
numbers in the left column, 5 & 6, are added to 1 (highlighted red); 5 + 6 + 1 = 12. The 12 is
then written below the line. That is, 584 + 646 = 1230.

Subtraction

Subtract 342 from 864.

Procedure: When subtracting, subtract from right to left. For the problem above, start with the
extreme right column. The numbers in that column are 4 & 2; 4 2 = 2, 2 is written below the
line in the extreme right column. Next, subtract the numbers in the middle column; 6 4 = 2, 2 is
written below the line in the middle column. Lastly, subtract the numbers in the left column; 8
3 = 5. 5 is written below the line in the left column.

Multiplication

Multiply 462 by 246.

Procedure: When multiplying, multiply the top number (in this case 462) by each of the numbers
in the bottom number (in this case 246), starting with the number to the extreme right. The
number to the extreme right in the bottom number is 6. On multiplying, 462 x 6 = 2772 is the
result. 2772 is written below the line. Next, 462 is multiplied by 4: 462 x 4 = 1848, 0 is added to
the right of 1848, resulting in 18480(the amount of zeros added is determined by the amount of
numbers to the right of the number in the bottom row being used, in this case 1 number is to the
right of 4 i.e. 6). 18480 is written below 2772. Next, 462 is multiplied by 2: 462 x 2 = 924, two
zeros is then added to 924 (as there are two numbers to the right of 2 i.e. 4 & 6) resulting in,
92400. 92400 is then written below 18480. Lastly, 2772, 18480 and 92400 are added, equalling
to 113652.

Division

Divide 4350 by 5.

Procedure: Since 4 is not divisible by 5, zero (0) is written above 4. 43 is then divided by 5: 5
goes into 43, 8 times, 8 is above 3. 5 multiplied by 8 is 40, 40 is then subtracted from 43, which
yields 3. 3 is not divisible by 5, and hence 5 is taken down (follow arrow) to make 35. 35 is then
divided by 5, which yields 7. 7 is then written above 5: 7 multiplied 5 is 35, this 35 is then
subtracted from 35, yielding 0. Lastly 0 is taken down (follow arrow). 0 divided by 5 is 0, o is
therefore written above 0. So, 4350 divided 5 is 870.
Combining them altogether

The example below, is of a problem that combines the use of addition, subtract, multiplication
and division.

Example

Fractions

A fraction is a number written in the form , where 3 is called the numerator and 5 the
denominator. There are two types of fractions, common and improper fractions. A common
fraction is one whose numerator is less than the denominator; hence, all common fractions are
less than 1. An improper fraction is one whose numerator is greater than the denominator; hence,
all improper fractions are greater than 1.

Lowest Common Multiple (L.C.M.)

The lowest common multiple (L.C.M.) of a group of numbers is the lowest number that can be
divided by each number in the group, without leaving a remainder.

Example

What is the L.C.M. of the numbers 3, 5 and 8?

Addition

If the denominators of two fractions to be added are the same, then add the numerators and place
it over the denominator.

Example

Add the fractions:

If the denominators are different, then the L.C.M, the lowest common multiple, has to be found.
On determining the L.C.M, divide it by each of the denominators, multiply the quotient by the
respective numerators and then add the amounts, placing the result over the L.C.M.

Example

Add the fractions:

Subtraction

If the denominators of two fractions to be subtracted are the same, then add the numerators and
place it over the denominator.

Example

Subtract the fractions:

If the denominators are different, then the L.C.M, the lowest common multiple, has to be found.
On determining the L.C.M, divide it by each of the denominators, multiply the quotient by the
respective numerators and then subtract the amounts, placing the result over the L.C.M.

Example

Subtract the fractions:

Multiplication

When multiplying, it is best to firstly cancel the fractions into their lowest form. Fractions are
cancelled by dividing denominators by numerators, or by dividing numerators by denominators.

Example

Multiply the fractions:

Division

When dividing: invert (inter change the numerator and the denominator: ) the
fraction after the division sign, change the division sign to a multiplication sign, cancel the
fractions, then multiply.

Example

Simplify:
Decimals

Decimals consist of a whole number and a decimal fraction.

Decimal = Whole number + Decimal fraction

7.8 =7 + 0.8

Decimal fractions are numbers written after decimal points; example, .8 is a decimal fraction.
The numbers after the decimal point are actually the numerators of a fraction, with the
denominator having as much zeros as there are numbers in the numerator. For example, the

decimal fraction .8, is as a fraction; 0.73, is .

Addition

Simplify:

Subtraction

Simplify:
Multiplication

The procedure for multiplying decimals is the same as multiplying whole numbers. On
completing the multiplication, the next step is to determine where the decimal point should be
placed; count the amount of numbers behind the decimal point in the numbers multiplied, that
amount, is the number of places that should be behind the decimal point in the product.

Example

Simplify:

Division

Before dividing, do the following: (1) Turn the divisor (the number that is doing the dividing)
into a whole number by moving the decimal point to the right of the last number. (2) Move the
decimal point of the number being divided to the right, by the same amount of places as the
divisor was moved. On completing, carry out the division placing the decimal point in the
quotient, at the exact point where it is in the number being divided.

Example

Simplify:
Conversions between Rational Numbers

Fractions to Decimals

Method 1

To convert a fraction to a decimal, divide the numerator by the denominator.

Example

Procedure: is similar to normal division except, since 8 goes into 4 zero times, a decimal point is
placed after the zero and a zero added to 4 turning it into 40.

Method 2

Step 1: Find a number that when multiplied by the denominator, results in a product of 10, 100,
1000 or any number with a 1 followed by zeros.

Step 2: Multiply both the numerator and denominator by that number.

Step 3: Write down the new numerator, putting a decimal point one place to the right for every
zero in the new denominator.

Example

Decimals to Fractions

To convert a decimal to a fraction, use the method outlined below.

Example

Fractions to Percentages

To convert a fraction to a decimal, multiply the fraction by 100.

Example
Percentages to Fractions

To convert a percentage into a fraction, follow the steps outlined below.

Step 1: Divide the percentage by 100.

Step 2: This step applies only if the percentage is not a whole number. In this case, multiply the
numerator and the denominator by 10 for every digit after the decimal point (if a number has 2
digits after the decimal point, multiply by 100: 3 digits, multiply by 1000 etc).

Step 3: Reduce the fraction into its simplest form.

Examples

Decimals to Percentages
To convert a decimal into a percentage, move the decimal point two places to the right (which is
the same as multiplying by 100) and add the percentage sign.

Example

Convert 0.728 into a percentage.

Percentage to Decimal

To convert a percentage into a decimal, move the decimal point two places to the left (divide by
100) and remove the percentage sign.

Example

Convert 43.2% into a decimal.

Significant Figures

To approximate a number to a given amount of significant figures, follow the instructions

outlined in the example below.

Example
It should be noted that the first significant figure cannot be zero.

Example
Decimal Places

To approximate a number to a given amount of decimal places follow the instructions outlined in
the example below.

Example

Standard Form

Numbers written in the form;

A x 10n

Where, 1 A 10, are in Standard Form.

When writing a number in standard form:

Step 1: Write the number in the form A. That is, turn the number into a number greater than or
equal to 1, and/or less than or equal to 10. This is done by moving the decimal point either to the
right or to the left.

Step 2: Multiply the number attained above by 10 for each place moved to the left, and by for
each place moved to the right.

Step 3: Write the number in the form A x 10n.

Example

Write the following numbers in standard form: (i) 243 876 (ii) 0.000487652

Percentage or Fraction of a Quantity

To find the percentage of a quantity, express the percentage as a fraction (write the percentage
given over 100) and multiply by the quantity.

Example

What is 40% of 500?

To find the fraction of a given quantity, multiply the fraction by the quantity.
Example

A Quantity as a Percentage or Fraction of Another

To express a quantity as a percentage of another quantity, divide the first quantity by the second
and multiply by 100.

Example

Express 80 as a percentage of 960.

To express a quantity as a fraction of another, write the first quantity over the second and
simplify.

Example

Express 48 as a fraction of 144.

Ratio

A ratio is a comparison between similar quantities, hence it is absolutely necessary to convert

quantities to the same units, currency etc. before expressing them as a ratio. A ratio can be

expressed as a fraction, , or in the form n : d, where, : means to.

Example

In a class of 50 students, students play either football or basketball. 24 students play football.
Find the ratio of:

(i) football players : total number of students

(ii) football players : basketball players.

Square of a Number

The square of a number is the number multiplied by itself.

Example

Square Root

The square root of a number x, is defined as that number which when multiplied by itself yields
the number x.

Example
Average

The average or mean of a set of numbers is defined by the formula:

Example

Computation Quiz #1

Question 1

Simplify

(20 2) + 12 4 x 3

Solution:
Question 2

Calculate the exact value of:

Solution:
Question 3

Correct to 3 significant figures, the value of 0.64 x 2.24.

Solution:
Question 4

What is 20% of 50 x 100?

Solution:

Question 5

What is the ratio of the square of 2 : the square root of 64?

Solution: