BODMAS Examples for Beginners (India Practice Guide)

The best way to learn BODMAS is not to memorise the letters but to solve many examples until the order feels automatic. This reference page collects a wide range of BODMAS examples for beginners — from very simple two-step sums to tougher expressions with brackets and powers — each fully worked in an Indian context. Use it as a practice bank while preparing for CBSE, state-board, or competitive-exam simplification questions.

Key takeaway: If you can confidently explain why each example is solved in its order, you have truly learned BODMAS — not just memorised it.

Level 1: Simple Two-Step Examples

These sums have just two operations. They teach the golden rule that multiplication and division outrank addition and subtraction.

1. 6 + 2 × 5 → multiply first: 2 × 5 = 10, then 6 + 10 = 16.
2. 20 − 12 ÷ 4 → divide first: 12 ÷ 4 = 3, then 20 − 3 = 17.
3. 9 + 3 × 0 → multiply first: 3 × 0 = 0, then 9 + 0 = 9.
4. 15 ÷ 3 + 4 → divide first: 15 ÷ 3 = 5, then 5 + 4 = 9.

Level 2: Examples With Brackets

Brackets override the normal order. Whatever sits inside is solved first, which often changes the answer dramatically compared with the same numbers without brackets.

1. ( 6 + 2 ) × 5 → bracket first: 8 × 5 = 40. Compare with example 1 above, where the answer was 16.
2. 100 ÷ ( 5 + 5 ) → bracket first: 100 ÷ 10 = 10.
3. ( 12 − 4 ) × ( 3 + 1 ) → 8 × 4 = 32.
4. 50 − ( 20 − 5 ) → 15, then 50 − 15 = 35.

Level 3: Examples With Orders (Powers and “Of”)

The Orders stage handles powers, square roots, and the word “of”, all done right after brackets.

1. 3² + 4 → 9 + 4 = 13.
2. 2 × 5² → order first: 5² = 25, then 2 × 25 = 50.
3. ½ of 80 − 10 → of first: 40, then 40 − 10 = 30.
4. √49 + 6 → 7 + 6 = 13.

Level 4: Mixed Examples (All Four Tiers)

These bring everything together and mirror the simplification questions in Indian exams.

1. 4 + [ 2 × ( 3² − 4 ) ] → 3² = 9, (9 − 4) = 5, 2 × 5 = 10, 4 + 10 = 14.
2. 36 ÷ 6 + 4 × ( 5 − 2 )² → (5 − 2) = 3, 3² = 9, 36 ÷ 6 = 6, 4 × 9 = 36, 6 + 36 = 42.
3. { 8 + ( 6 ÷ 2 ) } × 3 → 6 ÷ 2 = 3, 8 + 3 = 11, 11 × 3 = 33.

Everyday Indian Examples

A grocery bill

You buy 4 kg rice at ₹60 and 2 kg dal at ₹110, with a ₹50 coupon: 4 × 60 + 2 × 110 − 50 = 240 + 220 − 50 = ₹410.

Splitting a trip cost

Five friends spend ₹3,500 and get a ₹500 cashback, then split it: ( 3500 − 500 ) ÷ 5 = 3000 ÷ 5 = ₹600 each.

Mobile recharge maths

A plan gives 2 GB per day for 28 days plus a 10 GB bonus: 2 × 28 + 10 = 56 + 10 = 66 GB total.

Practice Table (Try These Yourself)

Expression	Answer
7 + 6 × 2	19
( 7 + 6 ) × 2	26
48 ÷ 8 − 2	4
4² + 3 × 2	22
( 10 − 4 )² ÷ 9	4

Benefits of Learning Through Examples

Working through examples turns an abstract rule into a practical habit. Each solved sum reinforces the order until you no longer have to recite “B-O-D-M-A-S” consciously. Examples also reveal how much brackets matter, because you can compare two nearly identical sums and see the answers diverge. For exam preparation, a bank of practised examples means you recognise question patterns instantly and solve them faster, which is a real advantage in timed papers like SSC and banking exams. And because the examples use familiar Indian situations — bills, recharges, trip splits — the rule feels useful rather than academic, which helps it stick.

Challenges and Limitations

Examples are powerful, but only if you attempt them before reading the solution; passively reading answers builds false confidence. Beginners also tend to practise only easy sums and avoid brackets or powers, which leaves gaps that exams quickly expose. Some tricky viral examples are deliberately ambiguous and can mislead learners into thinking BODMAS is unreliable, when the real issue is unclear notation. To get full value, vary the difficulty and always solve first, check second.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Reading answers before trying. Attempt each example yourself first, then verify.
2. Practising only easy sums. Include brackets and powers so you are ready for exam-level questions.
3. Forcing division before multiplication. Remember they are equal and go left to right.
4. Ignoring the minus before a bracket. It changes the sign of every term inside.
5. Skipping the Orders step. Powers and “of” must be done before division and multiplication.
6. Not writing steps. Show each line so you can spot exactly where an error crept in.

Best Practices and Expert Recommendations

1. Solve 5–10 examples daily. Short, regular practice beats occasional long sessions.
2. Mix the difficulty levels. Alternate simple, bracketed, and power-based sums.
3. Use real Indian prices. Turn shopping and recharge situations into practice sums.
4. Verify with a BODMAS calculator. Confirm each answer to catch slips immediately.
5. Redo the ones you get wrong. Errors are the most valuable practice of all.
6. Explain a sum to someone else. Teaching cements your understanding of the order.

How to Read a BODMAS Expression Before You Solve It

Before touching a single number, spend a moment scanning the whole expression from left to right. Ask yourself three quick questions: Are there any brackets, and are they nested inside one another? Are there any powers, roots, or the word “of”? And where do the division and multiplication signs sit relative to the addition and subtraction signs? This ten-second scan tells you the shape of the problem and prevents the panic that makes beginners grab the first two numbers they see. Indian exam questions are deliberately arranged so that a careful reader spots the structure immediately, while a hasty one falls into the trap. Reading first, then solving, is a habit that separates confident students from anxious ones.

A Detailed Walkthrough of a Tricky Example

Let us slow right down and solve 50 − [ 3 + 2 × ( 4² − 6 ) ] one careful step at a time, writing a fresh line after each move, exactly as you should in an exam.

1. Start with the innermost bracket’s Orders part: 4² = 16. The expression becomes 50 − [ 3 + 2 × ( 16 − 6 ) ].
2. Finish the round bracket: 16 − 6 = 10. Now it is 50 − [ 3 + 2 × 10 ].
3. Inside the square bracket, multiplication before addition: 2 × 10 = 20, giving 50 − [ 3 + 20 ].
4. Finish the square bracket: 3 + 20 = 23, leaving 50 − 23.
5. Final subtraction: 50 − 23 = 27.

Notice how each line is only slightly shorter than the one before. This deliberate, unhurried style is exactly what earns full method marks and, more importantly, protects you from silly slips. Every tricky-looking sum in an Indian board or competitive paper yields to the same patient, one-step-at-a-time treatment.

Why Comparing Examples Teaches So Much

One of the most powerful learning tricks is to solve two nearly identical sums side by side and study why their answers differ. Take 6 + 2 × 5 and (6 + 2) × 5: the only difference is a pair of brackets, yet the answers are 16 and 40. Or compare 20 − 12 ÷ 4 with (20 − 12) ÷ 4, which give 17 and 2 respectively. These paired comparisons burn the importance of order into your memory far more effectively than solving isolated sums, because they show the rule doing real work. Whenever you finish an example, try changing one bracket or one operation and predict how the answer will move before you recalculate.

Building a Personal Example Bank

Serious learners keep a small notebook of BODMAS examples they have solved, sorted by difficulty. Every time you meet a new pattern — a double bracket, a power inside a bracket, a fraction combined with subtraction — add it to the notebook with the full working. Over a few weeks this becomes a personalised revision resource far more valuable than any printed worksheet, because it is built from the exact question types you find hard. Before an exam, re-solving your own tricky examples is one of the most efficient ways to revise, and it reassures you that no BODMAS structure can surprise you. Pair this habit with a quick daily check on a free calculator, and steady improvement is almost guaranteed.

Conclusion

BODMAS becomes second nature through examples, not memorisation. Start with simple two-step sums, add brackets and powers, and finish with mixed expressions that use all four tiers. Practise a handful every day using familiar Indian situations, always solve before checking, and verify with a free BODMAS calculator. Do that consistently and you will breeze through simplification questions in school and competitive exams alike.

FAQs

What is a simple BODMAS example?
6 + 2 × 5 = 16, because multiplication is done before addition: 2 × 5 = 10, then 6 + 10 = 16.

How do brackets change a BODMAS answer?
Brackets are solved first, so (6 + 2) × 5 = 40, while 6 + 2 × 5 = 16. The same numbers give very different answers.

How many BODMAS examples should I practise daily?
Around five to ten mixed examples a day is enough to build speed and accuracy without burning out.

Where can I check my BODMAS answers?
Use a free online BODMAS calculator to verify each answer after solving it by hand.

Are BODMAS examples useful for competitive exams?
Yes. Simplification questions in SSC, banking, and railway exams are essentially BODMAS examples under time pressure, so practice directly improves your score.