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5th grade · Math · Unit 10 of 15

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.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: NY-5.OA.1; NY-5.OA.2 · the order of operations, and writing and reading numerical 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 New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 10 of 15 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: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

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

    Without calculating: 4 × (7214 + 377) is how many times as large as 7214 + 377?

    • 7214
    • 4
    • 377
    • 5

  2. Question 2

    Which expression means “multiply 4 by 4, then add 2”?

    • 4 × (4 + 2)
    • (4 + 2) × 4
    • 4 + 4 × 2
    • 4 × 4 + 2

  3. Question 3

    Where do the parentheses go to make 2 + 5 × 4 = 28?

    • (2 + 5) × 4
    • 2 + 5 × 4 (no parentheses)
    • 2 + (5 × 4)

  4. Question 4

    What is 5 × [2 + (2 × 1)]?

    • 22
    • 12
    • 20
    • 25
    • 21

  5. Question 5

    What is 24 ÷ 4 + 2?

    24 ÷ 4 + 2 = ?

    • 8
    • 6
    • 7
    • 10
    • 12

  6. Question 6

    What is 15 ÷ 3 + 6?

    15 ÷ 3 + 6 = ?

    • 8
    • 13
    • 9
    • 14
    • 11

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