Brackets group things that should be treated as one. Solve what's inside first — that's the P in PEMDAS.
Walk through
Step 1 of 4
The expression
Evaluate 2[3 + (4 × 2)]. Work from the **innermost** bracket outward.
A bracket with a number in front means multiply the whole bracket: 2(3 + 8) = 2 × 11.
Your turn
Evaluate 5{2 + [6 − (1 + 1)]}.
Watch out
Brackets override the usual left-to-right order — you always finish what's inside before touching anything outside, even multiplication and powers.
Three flavours
- ( ) parentheses — innermost
- [ ] square brackets — next
- { } curly braces — outermost
Try it
2[3 + (4 × 2)]
Inner: 4×2=8. Then 3+8=11. Then 2×11=22.