Chapter

The four rules

Topics Level Key words

1 Order of operations FOUNDATION operation, brackets, order

2 Choosing the correct FOUNDATION

operation

3 Finding a fraction of a FOUNDATION quantity, fraction

quantity

4 Adding and subtracting FOUNDATION

proper fraction, vulgar fraction, lowest terms,
fractions simplest form, denominator, mixed number,
equivalent fraction

5 Multiplying and dividing FOUNDATION numerator, reciprocal

fractions

What you need to be able to do in the examinations:

F O U N D AT I O N

● Use the four rules of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

● Use brackets and the hierarchy of operations.
● Calculate a given fraction of a given quantity, expressing the answer as a fraction.
● Use common denominators to order, add and subtract fractions.
● Understand and use unit fractions as multiplicative inverses.
● Multiply and divide a given fraction by an integer, by a unit fraction and by a general fraction.

47
 3.1 Order of operations

Suppose you have to work out the answer to 4 + 5 × 2. You may say the answer is 18, but the
correct answer is 14.
There is an order of operations which you must follow when working out calculations like this.
The × is always done before the +.
In 4 + 5 × 2 this gives 4 + 10 = 14.
Now suppose you have to work out the answer to (3 + 2) × (9 – 5). The correct answer is 20.
You have probably realised that the parts in the brackets have to be done first, giving 5 × 4 = 20.
So, how do you work out a problem such as 9 ÷ 3 + 4 × 2?
To answer questions like this, you must follow the BIDMAS (or BODMAS) rule. This tells you the
order in which you must do the operations.

B Brackets B Brackets
I Indices (Powers) O pOwers or Order
D Division D Division
M Multiplication M Multiplication
A Addition A Addition
S Subtraction S Subtraction

For example, to work out 9 ÷ 3 + 4 × 2:

First divide: 9÷3=3 giving 3+4×2
Then multiply: 4×2=8 giving 3+8
Then add: 3 + 8 = 11

And to work out 60 – 5 × 32 + (4 × 2):

First, work out the brackets: (4 × 2) = 8 giving 60 – 5 × 32 + 8
Then the index (power): 32 = 9 giving 60 – 5 × 9 + 8
Then multiply: 5 × 9 = 45 giving 60 – 45 + 8
Then add: 60 + 8 = 68 giving 68 – 45
Finally, subtract: 68 – 45 = 23

EXERCISE 3A
FOUNDATION

1 Work out each of these.

a 2×3+5= b 6÷3+4= c 5+7–2=
d 4×6÷2= e 2×8–5= f 3×4+1=
g 3×4–1= h 3×4÷1= i 12 ÷ 2 + 6 =
j 12 ÷ 6 + 2 = k 3+5×2= l 12 – 3 × 3 =

48
 CHAPTER 3: The four rules

FOUNDATION
2 Work out each of the following. Remember: first work out the bracket.
a 2 × (3 + 5) = b 6 ÷ (2 + 1) = c (5 + 7) – 2 =

d 5 + (7 – 2) = e 3 × (4 ÷ 2) = f 3 × (4 + 2) =

g 2 × (8 – 5) = h 3 × (4 + 1) = i 3 × (4 – 1) =

j 3 × (4 ÷ 1) = k 12 ÷ (2 + 2) = l (12 ÷ 2) + 2 =

3 Copy each of these and then put in brackets where necessary to make each answer true.
a 3 × 4 + 1 = 15 b 6÷2+1=4 c 6÷2+1=2

d 4+4÷4=5 e 4+4÷4=2 f 16 – 4 ÷ 3 = 4

g 3 × 4 + 1 = 13 h 16 – 6 ÷ 3 = 14 i 20 – 10 ÷ 2 = 5

j 20 – 10 ÷ 2 = 15 k 3 × 5 + 5 = 30 l 6 × 4 + 2 = 36

m 15 – 5 × 2 = 20 n 4 × 7 – 2 = 20 o 12 ÷ 3 + 3 = 2

p 12 ÷ 3 + 3 = 7 q 24 ÷ 8 – 2 = 1 r 24 ÷ 8 – 2 = 4

4 Ravi says that 5 + 6 × 7 is equal to 77.

Is he correct?
Explain your answer.

5 Three different dice give scores of 2, 3, 5. Add ÷, ×, + or – signs, and brackets where
necessary, to make each calculation work.
a 2 3 5 = 11 b 2 3 5 = 16 c 2 3 5 = 17

d 5 3 2=4 e 5 3 2 = 13 f 5 3 2 = 30

6 Which is smaller?
4 + 5 × 3 or (4 + 5) × 3
Show your working.

7 Here is a list of numbers, some signs and one pair of brackets.

2 5 6 18 – × = ( )
Use all of them to make a correct calculation.

8 Here is a list of numbers, some signs and one pair of brackets.

3 4 5 8 – ÷ = ( )
Use all of them to make a correct calculation.

49
 3.2 Choosing the correct operation

When a problem is given in words you will need to decide the correct operation to use. Should
you add, subtract, multiply or divide?

EXAMPLE 1

A party of 613 children and 59 adults are going on a day out to a theme park.
a How many coaches, each holding 53 people, will be needed?
b One adult gets into the theme park free for every 15 children. How many adults will
have to pay to get in?

a Altogether there are 613 + 59 = 672 people.

So the number of coaches needed is 672 ÷ 53 (number of seats on each coach)
= 12.67 …
13 coaches are needed (12 will not be enough).
b This is also a division, 613 ÷ 15 = 40.86 …
40 adults will get in free.
59 – 40 = 19 will have to pay.

EXERCISE 3B

There are 48 cans of soup in a crate. A shop had a delivery of 125 crates of soup.
FOUNDATION

a How many cans of soup were in this delivery?

b The shop is running a promotion on soup. If you buy five cans you get one free.
Each can costs 39 cents. How much will it cost to get 32 cans of soup?

2 A school has 12 classes, each of which has 24 students.

a How many students are there at the school?
b The student–teacher ratio is 18 to 1. That means there is one teacher for every 18 students.
How many teachers are there at the school?

3 A football club is organising travel for an away game. 1300 adults and 500 children want to
go. Each coach holds 48 people and costs $320 to hire.
Tickets to the match are $18 for adults and $10 for children.
a How many coaches will be needed?
b The club is charging adults $26 and children $14 for travel and a ticket. How much
profit does the club make out of the trip?

4 A large letter costs 39 cents to post and a small letter costs 30 cents. How many dollars will
it cost to send 20 large and 90 small letters?

50
 CHAPTER 3: The four rules

FOUNDATION
5 Kirsty collects small models of animals. Each one costs 45 cents. She saves enough to buy
23 models but when she goes to the shop she finds that the price has gone up to 55 cents.
How many can she buy now?

6 Michelle wants to save up for a bike that costs $250. She baby-sits each week for 6 hours
for $2.75 an hour, and does a Saturday job that pays $27.50. She saves three-quarters of her
weekly earnings. How many weeks will it take her to save enough to buy the bike?

7 The magazine Teen Dance comes out every month. In a newsagent the magazine costs
$2.45. The annual subscription for the magazine is $21. How much cheaper is each
magazine when bought on subscription?

8 Paula buys a sofa. She pays a deposit of 10% of the cash price and then 36 monthly
payments of $12.50. In total she pays $495. How much was the cash price of the sofa?

9 There are 125 people at a wedding. They need to get to the reception.
52 people are going by coach and the rest are travelling in cars. Each car can take up to five
people.
What is the least number of cars needed to take everyone to the reception?

10 Gavin’s car does 8 kilometres to each litre of fuel. He drives 12 600 kilometres a year of
which 4 600 is on company business.
Fuel costs 95 cents per litre.
Insurance and servicing costs $800 a year.
Gavin’s company gives him 40 cents for each kilometre he drives on company business.
How much does Gavin pay from his own money towards running his car each year?

3.3 Finding a fraction of a quantity

To do this, you simply multiply the fraction by the quantity, for example, 12 of 30 is the same
as 12 × 30.
Remember: In mathematics ‘of’ is interpreted as ×.
For example, two lots of three is the same as 2 × 3.

EXAMPLE 2

Find 34 of $196.

First, find 41 by dividing by 4. Then find 34 by multiplying your answer by 3.

196 ÷ 4 = 49 then 49 × 3 = 147
The answer is $147.

51
 CHAPTER 3: The four rules

EXERCISE 3C
FOUNDATION

1 Calculate each of these.

a
3 of 30 b
2 of 35 c
3 of 48 d
7 of 40
5 7 8 10

2 Calculate each of these quantities.

a
3 of $2400 b
2 of 320 grams c
5 of 256 kilograms
4 5 8

d
2 of $174 e
5 of 78 litres f
3 of 120 minutes
3 6 4

3 For each pair, which is the larger number?

a
2 of 60 or 5 of 40 b
3 of 280 or 7 of 290
5 8 4 10

c
2 of 78 or 4 of 70 d
5 of 72 or 11 of 60
3 5 6 12

2
4 A director receives 15 of his company’s profits. The company made a profit of $45 600 in
one year. How much did the director receive?

5 A woman left $84 000 in her will.

She left 38 of the money to charity.
How much did she leave to charity?

2
6
3
of a person’s mass is water. Paul has a mass of 78 kg. How much of his body
mass is water?

2
7 a Information from the first census in Singapore showed that 25 of the population were
Indian. The total population was 10 700. How many people were Indian?
1
b By 1990 the population of Singapore had grown to 3 002 800. Only 16 of this population
were Indian. How many Indians were living in Singapore in 1990?

1
8 Mark normally earns $500 a week. One week he is given a bonus of 10 of his wage.
1
a Find 10 of $500.
b How much does he earn altogether for this week?

9 The price of a new TV costing $360 is reduced by 13 in a sale.

a Find 13 of $360.
b How much does the TV cost in the sale?

52
 CHAPTER 3: The four rules

FOUNDATION
10 A car is advertised at Lion Autos at $9000 including extras but with a special offer of
1
5
off this price.
The same car is advertised at Tiger Motors for $6000 but the extras add 14 to
this price.
Which garage is the cheaper?

11 A jar of coffee normally contains 200 g and costs $2.

There are two special offers on a jar of coffee.
1
Offer A: 4
extra for the same price.
Offer B: Same mass for 34 of the original price.
Which offer is the best value?

In the last exercise the answer was always a whole number. When that is not the case and we
want the answer as a fraction, it is easier to change the order of multiplying and dividing.

EXAMPLE 3

Find 32 of 17, giving the answer as a fraction.

We want to find 17 ÷ 3 × 2.
Because 17 ÷ 3 is not a whole number, it is easier to change the order to:
17 × 2 ÷ 3 = 34 ÷ 3 = 1131 (34 ÷ 3 = 11 with 1 remainder)

EXERCISE 3D

FOUNDATION
1 To find 35 of 75 you could calculate 75 ÷ 5 × 3 or 75 × 3 ÷ 5.
Show that both give the same answer.

2 Calculate the following, giving your answers as fractions:

a
2 of 8 b
3 of 7 c
3 of 13
3 4 4

d
2 of 4 e
3 of 6 f
5 of 5
5 5 8

3 Calculate the following, giving the answers as fractions:

a
3 of 3 b
3 of 6 c
4 of 2
10 20 15

4 Copy and complete this table:

2 3 5
3 4 6

10 6 23
20

53
FOUNDATION CHAPTER 3: The four rules

5 Calculate the following, giving the answers as fractions:

a
3 of 25 b
2 of 40
4 3

c
2 of 24 d
3 of 34
5 20

e
5 of 29 f
7 of 30
8 8

3.4 Adding and subtracting fractions

When you add two fractions with the same denominator, you get one of the following:
● a proper fraction that cannot be simplified, for example:
1+2=3
5 5 5

● a proper fraction that can be simplified to its lowest terms or simplest form, for example:
1+3=4=1
8 8 8 2

● a vulgar fraction that cannot be simplified, so it is converted to a mixed number, for example:
6 + 2 = 8 = 11
7 7 7 7

● a vulgar fraction that can be simplified before it is converted to a mixed number,

for example:
5 + 7 = 12 = 3 = 11
8 8 8 2 2

When you subtract two fractions with the same denominator, you get one of the following:
● a proper fraction that cannot be simplified, for example:
3–1=2
5 5 5

● a proper fraction that can be simplified, for example:

1– 1 = 5 – 1 = 4 =2
2 10 10 10 10 5

Note: You must always simplify fractions by cancelling if possible.

54
 CHAPTER 3: The four rules

EXAMPLE 4

Find 21 + 85

These fractions do not have the same denominator.

However 21 = 84 so we can write:
1 + 5 = 4 + 5 =9=11
2 8 8 8 8 8

EXERCISE 3E

FOUNDATION
1 Work out:

a
3+2 b
5+2
7 7 9 9
c
3+1 d
3+3
5 5 7 7

2 Work out:

a
4–1 b
5–4
7 7 9 9
c
7 – 3 d
9 – 2
11 11 13 13

3 Work out:

a
5+1 b
3 + 1
8 8 10 10
c
2+4 d
1+1
9 9 4 4

4 Work out:

a
7–3 b
7 – 3
8 8 10 10
c
5–1 d
9 – 1
6 6 10 10

5 Work out each of these additions. Use equivalent fractions to make the denominators the
same. Show your working.

a
1+ 7 b
1+5
2 10 2 8
c
3+3 d
3+7
4 8 4 8
e
1+7 f
1+5
2 8 3 6
g
5+2 h
3+1
6 3 4 2

55
FOUNDATION CHAPTER 3: The four rules

6 Work out each of these additions. Show your working.

a
3+7 b
3+3
8 8 4 4
c
2+3 d
7 + 9
5 5 10 10

7 Work out each of these subtractions. Use equivalent fractions to make the denominators the
same. Show your working.

a
7–1 b
7 –1
8 4 10 5
c
3–1 d
5–1
4 2 8 4
e
1–1 f
7–1
2 4 8 2
g
9 –1 h
11 – 3
10 2 16 8
Fractions with different denominators can only be added or subtracted after you have converted
them to equivalent fractions with the same denominator.

EXAMPLE 5

i Find 32 + 51

Note you can write both fractions as equivalent fractions with a denominator
of 15. This is the lowest common multiple of 3 and 5.
This then becomes:
2 × 5 + 1 × 3 = 10 + 3 = 13
3 × 5 5 × 3 15 15 15

ii Find 234 – 165

This then becomes:

( )( )
Split the calculation into 2 + 3 – 1 + 5 .
4 6

2–1+3–5
4 6
Note you can write both fractions as equivalent fractions with a denominator
of 12.
= 1 + 9 – 10 = 1 – 1
12 12 12
= 11
12

56
 CHAPTER 3: The four rules

EXERCISE 3F

FOUNDATION
1 Work out the following. Show your working.
a
1+1 b
1+1
3 5 3 4
c
1+ 1 d
2+1
5 10 3 4
e
3+1 f
1+1
4 8 3 6
g
1–1 h
1–1
2 3 4 5
i
1– 1 j
7–3
5 10 8 4
k
5–3 l
5–1
6 4 6 2
m
5 –1 n
1+4
12 4 3 9
o
1+3 p
7–1
4 8 8 2
q
3– 8 r
11 + 5
5 15 12 8
s
7 + 3 t
4– 2
16 10 9 21
u
5– 4
6 27

2 Work out the following. Show your working.

1
a 2 +1
3 b 6 3 + 14 + 21
7 14 10 5 2
1
c 3 –1
1 d
7
1 +2 3
2 3 18 10
2
e 3 +1
9 f 11 – 5
6 20 8 9
g 1
3 – 7 h
5+ 7 +5
16 12 6 16 8
i
7 +3+5 j 11 + 7 – 4
10 8 6 3 10 15
k
5 + 13 – 5
14 7 12

3 In a class of children, 34 are Chinese, 15 are Malay and the rest are Indian. What fraction of
the class are Indian?

4 a In a class election, 12 the class voted for Aminah, 13 voted for Reshma and the rest voted
for Peter. What fraction of the class voted for Peter?
b One of the following is the number of people in the class.
25 28 30 32
How many people are in the class?

57
 3.5 Multiplying and dividing fractions

What is 1 of 1 ? The diagram shows the answer is 1 .

2 4 8

In mathematics, you always write 1 of 1 as 1 × 1

2 4 2 4

So you know that 1 × 1 = 1

2 4 8
To multiply fractions, you multiply the numerators together and you multiply the denominators
together.

EXAMPLE 6

Work out 41 × 52.

1 ×2= 1×2 = 2 = 1
4 5 4 × 5 20 10

Sometimes you can simplify by cancelling before you multiply.

EXAMPLE 7

Find 83 × 95
1
3×5= 3×5 (3 is a factor of 3 and 9.)
8 9 8 93
= 5 (5 = 1 × 5)
24 (24 = 8 × 3)

To multiply mixed numbers, first write them as vulgar fractions.

EXAMPLE 8

Find 134 × 221

13 × 2 1 = 7 × 5
4 2 4 2
= 35
8
= 43
8

58
 CHAPTER 3: The four rules

EXERCISE 3G

FOUNDATION
1 Work out the following, leaving each answer in its simplest form. Show your working.

a
1×1 b
1×2
2 3 4 5

c
3×1 d
3×1
4 2 7 2

e
2×4 f
1×3
3 5 3 5

g
1×6 h
3×2
3 7 4 5

i
2×3 j
1×4
3 4 2 5

2 Work out the following, leaving each answer in its simplest form. Show your working.

a
5 × 3 b
9 × 5
16 10 10 12

c
14 × 3 d
8× 6
15 8 9 15

e
6 × 21 f
9 × 35
7 30 14 36

1
3
4
of Lee’s stamp collection was given to him by his sister. Unfortunately 23 of these were torn.
What fraction of his collection was given to him by his sister and were not torn?

4 Bilal eats 14 of a cake, and then 12 of what is left. How much cake is left uneaten?

5 Work out the following, giving each answer as a mixed number where possible. Show your
working.

a 11 × 1 b 12 × 11
4 3 3 4

c 21 × 21 d 13 × 12
2 2 4 3

e 31 × 11 f 11 × 22
4 5 4 3

g 21 × 5 h 71 × 4
2 2

6 Which is larger, 34 of 212 or 25 of 612 ?

59
 CHAPTER 3: The four rules

Dividing fractions
Look at the problem 3 ÷ 34
This is equivalent to asking, ‘How many 34 s are there in 3?’

Look at the diagram.

Each of the three whole shapes is divided into quarters. What is the total number of quarters
divided by 3?

Can you see that you could fit the four shapes on the right-hand side of the = sign into the three
shapes on the left-hand side?
i.e. 3 ÷ 3 = 4
4

or 3 ÷ 3 = 3 × 4 = 3 × 4 = 12 = 4
4 3 3 3
So, to divide by a fraction, you turn the fraction upside down (finding its reciprocal), and then
multiply.

EXAMPLE 9

Find 2 1 ÷ 3
2 4

21 ÷ 3 = 5× 4 (write 2 1 as a vulgar fraction)

2 4 2 3 2
2
=5 ×4 (2 and 4 have 2 as a common factor)
21 3
= 10
3
= 31
3
This means that 3 1 × 3 = 2 1
3 4 2

60
 CHAPTER 3: The four rules

EXERCISE 3H

FOUNDATION
1 Work out the following, giving your answer as a mixed number where possible.
Show your working.

a
1÷1 b
2÷2
4 3 5 7

c
4÷3 d
3÷2
5 4 7 5

e 5 ÷ 11 f 6 ÷ 11
4 2

g 71 ÷ 11 h 3 ÷ 13
2 2 4

i 15 ÷33 j 33 ÷ 21
12 16 5 4

2 A grain merchant has only 1312 tonnes in stock. He has several customers who are all
ordering 34 of a tonne. How many customers can he supply?

3 For a party, Zahar made 1212 litres of lemonade. His glasses could each hold 16
5
of a litre.
1
How many of the glasses could he fill from the 122 litres of lemonade?

4 How many strips of ribbon, each 312 centimetres long, can I cut from a roll of ribbon that is
5212 centimetres long?

5 Joe’s stride is 34 of a metre long. How many strides does he take to walk the length of a bus
12 metres long?

6 Work out the following, giving your answers as a mixed number where possible.

a 22 × 2 1 × 16 b 31 × 21 × 43
9 10 35 5 2 4

c 11 × 12 × 11 d
18 × 15 ÷ 22
4 7 6 25 16 5

e
(25 × 25) × (56 × 56) × (34 × 34) f
(45 × 45) ÷ (114 × 141 )

61
 Why this chapter matters
Life is full of opposites: up and down, hot and cold, left and right,
light and dark, rough and smooth, to name a few. One important
pair of opposites in maths is positive and negative.

So far you have worked mostly with positive numbers, carrying out calculations with them and
using them in real life problems. But negative numbers are also important, both in maths and
everyday life. Positive and negative numbers are called directed numbers. You can think of the
+ and – showing which direction they move from 0. This is important in many situations:

A negative number on a bank On the Celsius temperature scale zero is known as ‘freezing
statement will show how much point’. In many places temperatures fall below freezing point.
money you have spent above what We need negative numbers to represent these temperatures.
you have in your bank account.

Jet pilots experience

g-forces when their
aircraft accelerates or
5 – 9 = –4 When a bigger number is
taken from a smaller one, the
decelerates quickly.
result is a negative number.
Negative g-forces can
be felt when an object
accelerates downwards
very quickly and they are
represented by negative
numbers.

In lifts, negative
numbers are Sea level can be
used to represent given the value
floors below ‘zero’. Mountains are
ground level. described as being
‘above sea level’ and
ocean floors as ‘below
sea level’. This means
that depths under the
sea are given using
negative numbers.

As you can see, negative numbers are just as important as positive numbers and you
will encounter them in your everyday life.

62