Four Operations

GCSELevel 1-3Cambridge iGCSEEdexcel iGCSE

The Four Operations

The four operations include addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Addition: operation to find the total of two or more numbers.

Subtraction: operation to find the difference between two numbers.

Multiplication: operation to find the product of two or more numbers.

Division: operation to split a number into equal parts.

Addition

Simple addition questions, like $5+11$ , can be easily calculated ourselves or by using a calculator and typing in $5+11=$ giving us $16$ .

We may come across more complicated questions, such as:

If Sally has $\text{£}12$ , and for her birthday she is given $\text{£}230$ from her mum, $\text{£}162$ from her dad, and $\text{£}51$ from her brother, how much money does she now have?

We can similarly work this out by typing the following into our calculator:

12+230+162+51=\text{£}455

Subtraction

Similarly to addition, we can use our calculator to work out subtraction questions, for example:

If Sally has $\text{£}455$ , and she spends $\text{£}80$ on shoes, $\text{£}118$ on jumpers, and $\text{£}66$ on jewellery, how much money would she have remaining?

We can work this out by typing the following into our calculator:

$455-80-118-66=\text{£}191$ .

Multiplication

Simple multiplication questions, like $4\times5$ , can be easily calculated ourselves or by using a calculator and typing in $4\times5=$ , giving us $20$ .

We may come across more complicated questions, such as:

Freddie buys $6$ chocolate bars for $55\text{ p}$ each, how much does he spend in total?

We can similarly work this out by typing the following into our calculator:

$6\times55=330\text{ p}$ .

Division

Similarly to multiplication, we can use our calculator to work out division questions, for example:

Freddie spends $605\text{ p}$ on chocolate bars. Each chocolate bar costs $55\text{ p}$ , how many chocolate bars does Freddie buy?

We can similarly work this out by typing the following into our calculator:

$605\div55=11$ chocolate bars.

Example 1: Simple Operations

Use your calculator to work out these four operation questions:

a) $16+12+31+40$

b) $109-34-12-9$

c) $3\times5\times9\times18$

d) $100\div4\div5$

[4 marks]

a) By typing the sum into a calculator:

16+12+31+40=99

b) By typing the sum into a calculator:

109-34-12-9=54

c) By typing the sum into a calculator:

3\times5\times9\times18=2430

d) By typing the sum into a calculator:

100\div4\div5=5

Example 2: Applied Operations

Bart is going to a supermarket. He buys a bag of kiwis for $\text{£}3$ , some yoghurts for $\text{£}4$ and $6$ toothbrushes each priced at $\text{£}1$ .

By using multiplication and addition, calculate how much money Bart spent overall at the supermarket.

[3 marks]

Firstly, we can work out how much he spent in total on toothbrushes by multiplying the price by the number of toothbrushes bought:

\text{£}1\times6=\text{£}6

Now, we can add up everything he bought to find his total:

\text{£}6+\text{£}3+\text{£}4=\text{£}13

Four Operations Example Questions

Question 1: Emma collects stamps. On Monday she had $55$ stamps. On Tuesday she collected $4$ more stamps from her parents’ letters. On Wednesday her friend gave her $11$ more stamps. However, on Thursday she fell over on her way to school and lost $28$ of her stamps.

How many stamps did she have left after losing some?

[3 marks]

Monday: $55$

Tuesday: $55+4=59$

Wednesday: $59+11=70$

Thursday: $70-28=42$

Therefore, she had $42$ stamps remaining.

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Question 2: $4$ friends are going on holiday together. In total, they spent $\text{£}600$ on flights, $\text{£}1800$ on a hotel, and $\text{£}300$ on baggage.

Calculate how much they each spent on their holiday.

[3 marks]

We can firstly use addition to calculate the total cost for all $4$ friends:

\text{£}600+\text{£}1800+\text{£}300=\text{£}2700

We can then divide this by $4$ to calculate how much each person spent.

\text{£}2700\div4=\text{£}675

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Question 3: A teacher has $160$ colouring pens to share between her class of $32$ students, and she wants each student to get the same amount of colouring pens. She shares them out equally.

However, by the end of the day, each student has lost $2$ colouring pens each.

How many colouring pens did each student have by the end of the day?

[4 marks]

Firstly, we can share the $160$ pens between the $32$ students using division:

160\div32=5

So, each child has $5$ colouring pens.

Then, each child loses $2$ pens:

5-2=3

Therefore, by the end of the day, each student has $3$ colouring pens.

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Specification Points Covered

Edexcel iGCSE

1. Numbers and the number system – 1.1 Integers E – Use the four rules of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division

Cambridge iGCSE

E1 Number E1.8 – Use the four rules for calculations with whole numbers, decimals and fractions (including mixed numbers and improper fractions), including correct ordering of operations and use of brackets.