Question 1
60 + 8 × 9 − 64 ÷ 8 = ?
Simplify — order of operations wins.
- 124
- 123
- 68
- 114
- 110
Show the worked solution
- × and ÷ first: 8 × 9 = 72; 64 ÷ 8 = 8.
- Then left to right: 60 + 72 − 8 = 124.
Simplification
Simplification questions — BODMAS, done in the right order
Simplification questions give one long expression and ask for its value under BODMAS: brackets, then orders, then division and multiplication left to right, then addition and subtraction. The fast route is to convert percentages and decimals into fractions and cancel before multiplying, so the arithmetic stays small throughout.
Simplification is the highest-frequency kind in a bank prelims quant paper — often five marks on its own — and the one most often lost to haste rather than difficulty. Every wrong option is a specific procedural slip, most commonly working strictly left to right and letting addition overtake multiplication.
Try it against the clock. Simplification (BODMAS) runs at 20s easy, 30s medium and 45s hard. The clock is stamped and judged on our server, so the limit you see is the deadline that is actually enforced — and it starts when you tap Start, not while the question is loading.
How to solve simplification questions in the correct BODMAS order
-
Resolve brackets from the inside out
Innermost bracket first, then outward. Where several brackets sit side by side and do not nest, resolve them in any order — they cannot affect each other. Rewriting the expression after each bracket closes keeps the line short enough to read.
-
Do division and multiplication together, left to right
They share one rank; neither outranks the other. In 48 ÷ 6 × 2 the division comes first because it is further left, giving 16 rather than 4. This single rule accounts for most wrong answers in the topic.
-
Convert percentages and decimals to fractions immediately
Rewrite 37.5% as 3/8 and 0.25 as 1/4 before doing anything else. Fractions cancel; decimals accumulate digits. An expression that looks intimidating in decimals often collapses to a single-digit answer once written as fractions.
-
Cancel across the whole expression before multiplying
In a chain of fractions, cancel every common factor between any numerator and any denominator first. Multiplying first and simplifying afterwards produces large numbers that are slow to handle and easy to mistype.
BODMAS, in the order the rules actually apply
| Step | What it covers |
|---|---|
| B — Brackets | Innermost first, then outward |
| O — Orders | Powers, squares and roots |
| D and M — together | Division and multiplication, left to right |
| A and S — together | Addition and subtraction, left to right |
| Of | Means multiply, and binds with the D/M rank |
| A bar or vinculum | Treated as a bracket — resolve it first |
3 real simplification questions, with worked solutions
Generated by the same engine that mints the ComputePrep daily. Each answer is computed from the numbers printed in the question, and the walkthrough below each one is the engine's own working — not a solution written afterwards. Reload this page's live drill and you get different numbers.
Question 2
82 + 8 × 5 − 60 ÷ 6 = ?
Simplify — order of operations wins.
- 122
- 65
- 111
- 102
- 112
Show the worked solution
- × and ÷ first: 8 × 5 = 40; 60 ÷ 6 = 10.
- Then left to right: 82 + 40 − 10 = 112.
Question 3
52 + 4 × 5 − 32 ÷ 8 = ?
Simplify — order of operations wins.
- 69
- 78
- 58
- 68
- 31
Show the worked solution
- × and ÷ first: 4 × 5 = 20; 32 ÷ 8 = 4.
- Then left to right: 52 + 20 − 4 = 68.
Common mistakes this drill is built from
The wrong options are not random numbers. Each one is the result of a specific careless error for this topic, so picking one tells you which habit is costing you marks.
Working strictly left to right
In 8 + 4 × 3 the multiplication happens first, giving 20 rather than 36. The left-to-right answer is always among the options, because it is the error the question was built to catch.
Treating division as outranking multiplication
They share a rank and are resolved in the order they appear. Doing all multiplications first changes the answer whenever a division sits to their left.
Multiplying before cancelling
It produces large intermediate numbers, costs time, and creates transcription errors. Cancel first and the arithmetic usually stays inside single or double digits.
FAQ
What is the correct BODMAS order?
Brackets, then orders such as powers and roots, then division and multiplication together working left to right, then addition and subtraction together working left to right. The critical detail is that division does not outrank multiplication and addition does not outrank subtraction — within each pair, position decides.
In 48 ÷ 6 × 2, is the answer 16 or 4?
Sixteen. Division and multiplication share a rank, so the leftmost operation goes first: 48 ÷ 6 = 8, then 8 × 2 = 16. Answering 4 means multiplication was given priority it does not have, and that option is deliberately provided.
Should I convert decimals to fractions in simplification?
Almost always. Fractions cancel against each other and decimals do not, so an expression full of 0.125 and 0.375 becomes far shorter as 1/8 and 3/8. The conversion takes seconds and usually removes the need for long multiplication entirely.
How many simplification questions appear in bank prelims?
Commonly five, sometimes more when approximation questions are counted alongside. Because each one is a fixed procedure rather than a problem to think about, it is the cheapest block of marks in the quant section and the right place to start a timed-practice habit.
Practise the next topic
- All 23 drill types — the full rotation with every published time limit.
- Percentage questions for bank exam papers — percentage questions for bank exam, timed.
- Average questions — average questions, timed.
- Vedic maths shortcuts — the seven sutras that make a 15-second answer possible.
- How to improve calculation speed — the six-week arc these drills fit into.
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