Order of operations is the agreement that keeps everyone getting the same answer from the same expression. These free printable worksheets ask a child to evaluate number sentences that mix multiplication or division with addition and subtraction — and, when you want them, parentheses that change what happens first.
If they get stuck
The answer key prints on a separate page.
Every expression is built so precedence actually matters: there is always a multiplication or division to do before an addition or subtraction, so a child who works strictly left to right gets it wrong and learns why the rule exists. Turn parentheses on and a grouping symbol overrides that order — (3 + 4) × 2 is not 3 + 4 × 2 — which is the heart of the grade-five standard.
Because the goal is the order and not heavy arithmetic, the multiplication and division always keep a small times-table factor and every division comes out even; only the added and subtracted numbers grow with the digit setting. You choose three numbers or four, one to three digits, and parentheses on or off. Each problem prints on its own line with room to show the working, and every answer is a whole, non-negative number.
One question from a sheet like this one, worked a step at a time — with a sentence saying what just happened and why.
Order of operations, step by step