Why order of operations (BODMAS) trips up so many South African students — and how to fix it
A small rule with big consequences: why capable learners keep losing marks on sums they think they understand.
Your child writes down 3 + 4 × 2 and confidently answers 14. The teacher marks it wrong. It should be 11. Your child is baffled, you are baffled, and suddenly a simple-looking sum has turned into a homework-time standoff.
This is the order of operations, known in South African classrooms as BODMAS (Brackets, Orders, Division and Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction). It looks like a small rule, yet it is one of the most common reasons capable learners lose marks in tests and exams. Here is why it causes so much trouble, and what parents can do about it.
Why BODMAS is harder than it looks
From Grade 1, children learn to read and calculate from left to right. It works for reading, and for years it works for maths too. Then BODMAS arrives and asks them to override a habit built over many years. The rule itself is short, but the instinct it contradicts is very strong.
The acronym adds to the confusion. Many learners read B-O-D-M-A-S as a strict ladder and conclude that division always comes before multiplication, and addition before subtraction. In fact, division and multiplication share the same rank and are worked left to right, as are addition and subtraction. Get that wrong and 12 ÷ 3 × 2 becomes 2 instead of 8.
Then there is the "O". Orders, meaning powers and roots, is a term many learners have simply never had explained, so it becomes a letter they memorise without meaning.
- Brackets first, always.
- Then powers and roots (the "O" for Orders).
- Then multiplication and division, working left to right.
- Then addition and subtraction, working left to right.
Where the problem shows up across the grades
Order of operations is formally taught in the primary and early senior phase under CAPS, but its effects are felt for years afterwards. In Grades 5 and 6, a wrong order gives wrong answers in multi-step calculations. In Grades 7 to 9, it interacts with negative numbers, exponents and algebraic expressions, so a shaky grasp multiplies the errors. By Grade 10 and beyond, evaluating formulas in trigonometry, financial maths and functions all assume BODMAS is automatic.
That is why a Grade 9 learner who "suddenly" struggles with algebra is often wrestling with a Grade 5 rule. The maths in front of them is new, but the mistake is old.
Signs your child is caught out by BODMAS
- Answers that are correct only when a question has a single operation.
- Working written as a long line that is calculated strictly left to right.
- Confusion when brackets appear or disappear.
- Calculator answers that do not match their own working, because the calculator follows BODMAS while the learner does not.
- Losing the method mark and the final answer in one go.
How to fix it at home
Start by making the rule visible. Ask your child to underline the part of the sum to calculate first, then rewrite the expression with that step done. Doing this slowly on paper for a week is more useful than doing twenty sums quickly.
Next, practise the tricky pairs on their own: multiplication and division together, then addition and subtraction together, always left to right. Once those are secure, add brackets, then powers.
Finally, mix it up. Learners often cope with a page of BODMAS questions because they know the topic on the page, then fail the same skill inside a word problem or algebra question. Short, regular practice across different question styles is what builds the habit.
This is where a tool like Equals2 helps. It covers maths for Grades 1 to 12, tracks your child's results and identifies weak areas, then serves targeted practice on exactly those skills. If BODMAS errors turn out to be a Grade 5 problem showing up in Grade 9, students can go back one or more grades and terms to rebuild the foundation, then return to their current work with more confidence.
Bringing it together
Order of operations is a small rule with large consequences. It rewards patience, visible working and repetition, and it punishes rushing. The good news is that it is highly fixable: a few weeks of focused practice can turn an error-prone skill into an automatic one.
If your child keeps losing marks on questions they "understand", check BODMAS first. Try Equals2 free at equals2.co.za and let the app show you exactly where the gaps are.