Max Maths, Year 5, Work Book, Mixed operations with a pair of brackets

Max Maths introduces Year 5 students to the concept of mixed operations with brackets in their Workbook. Practice 8 is dedicated to this topic, where students are encouraged to fill in the blanks and perform calculations involving both addition and multiplication within a single exercise. The first part of the practice presents a set of diagrams where students must determine the total number of items by applying the correct operations to the numbers inside and outside the brackets. An example given is (8 − 3) × 2, which simplifies to (5) × 2, resulting in a total of 10. This helps students understand the importance of performing operations in the correct order, as dictated by the brackets.

The workbook further challenges students with a series of equations that they must complete by filling in the missing numbers and operations. For example, they are asked to solve problems like 5 × (8 − 5) and (20 − 17) × 6 by identifying the operation to perform inside the brackets first and then completing the multiplication. Additionally, students are tasked with drawing the correct placement of brackets in given equations to achieve the desired outcomes, such as turning 5 × 2 – 2 into 5 × (2 – 2) to equal 8. These exercises are designed to enhance students' understanding of the order of operations and the role of brackets in mathematical expressions.