Order of Operations

Introduction

What is the order of operations?  Why do we need it?  Why is it so important?  From the time you started performing mathematic operations you had to use some kind of order.  The order of operations is the foundation of basic mathematics.  

Don't take my word for it! As you travel through this web quest form your own opinion of how important the order of operations is.

LET'S GET STARTED!

Task

The learners will:

  • explore why we need the order of operations
  • learn the order of operations
  • use the order of operations to evaluate expressions
  • develop their own acronym for remembering the order of operations
Process

Task 1

Use the following links to explore the order of operations and write what you see in the two examples.

http://coolmath.com/prealgebra/05-order-of-operations/01-order-of-operations-why-01.htm

http://www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/vol7/order_operations.html

 


Task 2 

Go to any fo the following links to learn about the order of operations.  Tak good notes because you may get to use them later.

http://www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/vol7/order_operations.html

http://www.mathsisfun.com/operation-order-pemdas.html

http://www.math.com/school/subject2/lessons/S2U1L2GL.html

Task 3

Use the following links to practice the order of operations.

http://www.ixl.com/math/grade-5/simplify-expressions-using-order-of-operations-and-parentheses

http://interactmath.com/Exercises.aspx?chapterId=2&sectionId=2&objectiveId=-1

Show your score to the teacher.

 

Task 4

Create your own way of remembering the order of operations.  It could be a song, an acronym, etc.

Be ready to present at the end of this lesson.

Evaluation

The students will get a grade for completing the problems on the interact website.  

The new way of remembering theorder of operation will be graded on a scale of 1 to 3.  

1 - States the order of operation

2 - Uses something other than PEMDAS or Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

3 - Develops an original idea. Creativity.

Conclusion

Now that you have explored the world of order of operations you have an understanding of why it is important, how to use it and have developed your own way of remembering it.  

We must have an order in order to keep order!

Credits
Teacher Page

This webquest on order of operations was developed for an Introduction to Math 1 class.  The students are using this activity to review the order of operations and develop a better understanding in order to use it in all other math classes.

It can be used at any level that the order of operations is being used. Links can be added or taken away to change the difficulty level for the students.