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5th grade · Math · Unit 10 of 14

Parentheses & Expressions

Brackets first!

What your child practices

Evaluating expressions with parentheses and brackets, writing an expression from words, and reading an expression without calculating it.

Alaska content standards learning standard: 5.OA.1; 5.OA.2 · writing and evaluating numerical expressions with parentheses, and interpreting expressions

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Do what is inside parentheses ( ) first, then brackets [ ].
  2. Then multiply and divide, left to right.
  3. Then add and subtract, left to right.

Example: What is 3 × [2 + (4 × 5)]? 4 × 5 = 20. 2 + 20 = 22. 3 × 22 = 66. Answer: 66

Parentheses & Expressions in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 10 of 14 in 5th grade Math, after Converting Units and before Coordinate Grid.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Where do the parentheses go to make 4 + 3 × 4 = 28?

    • 4 + 3 × 4 (no parentheses)
    • (4 + 3) × 4
    • 4 + (3 × 4)

  2. Question 2

    Which expression means “add 4 and 7, then multiply by 3”?

    • 4 + 7 × 3
    • (3 + 4) × 7
    • 3 × (4 + 7)
    • 3 × 4 + 7

  3. Question 3

    What is 3 × [6 + (3 × 4)]?

    • 54
    • 30
    • 84
    • 55
    • 57

  4. Question 4

    Without calculating: 5 × (1188 + 198) is how many times as large as 1188 + 198?

    • 6
    • 198
    • 5
    • 1188

  5. Question 5

    What is (17 − 8) × 6?

    (17 − 8) × 6 = ?

    • 60
    • 54
    • 52
    • 57
    • 56

  6. Question 6

    Without calculating: 5 × (6994 + 870) is how many times as large as 6994 + 870?

    • 870
    • 6994
    • 5
    • 6

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