BIMDAS

BIDMAS is an acronym that helps people remember the order of operations in math calculations:

• B: Brackets

• I: Indices, which is another term for exponents

• D: Division

• M: Multiplication

• A: Addition

• S: Subtraction 

The order of operations is a set of rules that tells you the correct order to do a calculation. For example, division and multiplication are equally important, as are addition and subtraction. 

The order of operations can have a big impact on the final answer. For example, 3 + 7 x 2 = 20 is incorrect because the question was answered left to right, not following the order of operations. The correct answer is 17, because you would multiply first: 3 + 7 x 2 = 3 + 14 = 17. 

The acronym BIDMAS is sometimes called BODMAS, where the O stands for "order" instead of "indices". The terms can be used interchangeably. 

Different regions have slightly different names for the order of operations:

• PEMDAS: Commonly used by mathematicians in the US

• BODMAS and BIDMAS: Commonly used in the UK

• BEDMAS: Often used in Canada and New Zealand