---
title: "Parentheses change the order | PracticeExcel"
description: "Practice the order of operations in a live spreadsheet: use parentheses to add before you multiply."
canonical_url: "https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice/first-formulas/order-of-operations-parentheses"
locale: en
meta:
  "og:description": "Practice the order of operations in a live spreadsheet: use parentheses to add before you multiply."
  "og:image": "https://practiceexcelonline.com/_og/d/c_Page%2Ctitle_Parentheses%2Bchange%2Bthe%2Border%2Cdescription_~UHJhY3RpY2UgdGhlIG9yZGVyIG9mIG9wZXJhdGlvbnMgaW4gYSBsaXZlIHNwcmVhZHNoZWV0OiB1c2UgcGFyZW50aGVzZXMgdG8gYWRkIGJlZm9yZSB5b3UgbXVsdGlwbHku%2Ceyebrow_First%2Bformulas%2Csite_practiceexcel%2Cprops_eyJncmlkIjp7ImNvbHMiOlsiQSIsIkIiLCJDIiwiRSJdLCJyb3dzIjpbeyJuIjoxLCJjZWxscyI6WyJJdGVtIiwiVW5pdHMiLCJCb251cyB1bml0cyIsIlRvdGFsIl19LHsibiI6MiwiY2VsbHMiOlsiQ29mZmVlIHBvZHMiLCIyMCIsIjQiLCIiXX1dLCJ0YXJnZXQiOlsxLDNdfX0%2Cp_Ii9wcmFjdGljZS9maXJzdC1mb3JtdWxhcy9vcmRlci1vZi1vcGVyYXRpb25zLXBhcmVudGhlc2VzIg%2Cs_zIixWs_ihdzBSxnD.png"
  "og:image:height": "600"
  "og:image:type": image/png
  "og:image:width": "1200"
  "og:title": "Parentheses change the order | PracticeExcel"
  "twitter:image": "https://practiceexcelonline.com/_og/d/c_Page%2Ctitle_Parentheses%2Bchange%2Bthe%2Border%2Cdescription_~UHJhY3RpY2UgdGhlIG9yZGVyIG9mIG9wZXJhdGlvbnMgaW4gYSBsaXZlIHNwcmVhZHNoZWV0OiB1c2UgcGFyZW50aGVzZXMgdG8gYWRkIGJlZm9yZSB5b3UgbXVsdGlwbHku%2Ceyebrow_First%2Bformulas%2Csite_practiceexcel%2Cprops_eyJncmlkIjp7ImNvbHMiOlsiQSIsIkIiLCJDIiwiRSJdLCJyb3dzIjpbeyJuIjoxLCJjZWxscyI6WyJJdGVtIiwiVW5pdHMiLCJCb251cyB1bml0cyIsIlRvdGFsIl19LHsibiI6MiwiY2VsbHMiOlsiQ29mZmVlIHBvZHMiLCIyMCIsIjQiLCIiXX1dLCJ0YXJnZXQiOlsxLDNdfX0%2Cp_Ii9wcmFjdGljZS9maXJzdC1mb3JtdWxhcy9vcmRlci1vZi1vcGVyYXRpb25zLXBhcmVudGhlc2VzIg%2Cs_zIixWs_ihdzBSxnD.png"
---

> Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://practiceexcelonline.com/llms.txt)

# **Parentheses change the order**

1.
2.

Step 1 of 2

Excel calculates **\*** and **/** before **+** and **-**, as in math class. =2+3\*4 is 14, not 20.

**Parentheses** go first of all: =(2+3)\*4 is 20.

Click **Continue** when you're ready.

Already know it? Type the formula straight into E2.

E2fx

|  | A | B | C | D | E | F |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Item | Units | Bonus units | Price | Total | |
| 2 | Coffee pods | 20 | 4 | 3 |  | |
| 3 |  |  |  |  |  | |
| 4 |  |  |  |  |  | |
| 5 |  |  |  |  |  | |
| 6 |  |  |  |  |  | |
| 7 |  |  |  |  |  | |
| 8 |  |  |  |  |  | |

Need help?

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#identity","@type":"Organization","name":"PracticeExcel","url":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/","logo":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#logo"}},{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#website","@type":"WebSite","inLanguage":"en-US","name":"PracticeExcel","url":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/","alternateName":["Practice Excel Online","PracticeExcelOnline.com"],"publisher":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#identity"},"workTranslation":{"@id":"https://excelopgaver.dk/#website"}},{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice/first-formulas/order-of-operations-parentheses#webpage","description":"Practice the order of operations in a live spreadsheet: use parentheses to add before you multiply.","name":"Parentheses change the order","url":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice/first-formulas/order-of-operations-parentheses","@type":["WebPage","FAQPage"],"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice/first-formulas/order-of-operations-parentheses#breadcrumb"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#website"},"mainEntity":[{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice/first-formulas/order-of-operations-parentheses#/schema/question/1"}],"potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice/first-formulas/order-of-operations-parentheses"]}],"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#logo"}},{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice/first-formulas/order-of-operations-parentheses#breadcrumb","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","name":"Home","item":"https://practiceexcelonline.com","position":1},{"@type":"ListItem","name":"Excel practice exercises","item":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice","position":2},{"@type":"ListItem","name":"First formulas","item":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice/first-formulas","position":3},{"@type":"ListItem","name":"Parentheses change the order","position":4}]},{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice/first-formulas/order-of-operations-parentheses#/schema/question/1","@type":"Question","inLanguage":"en-US","name":"In what order does Excel calculate a formula?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Parentheses first, then exponents (^), then * and /, then + and -. Operators with the same rank go from left to right."}},{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/practice/first-formulas/order-of-operations-parentheses#/schema/learning-resource/1","@type":"LearningResource","description":"Practice the order of operations in a live spreadsheet: use parentheses to add before you multiply.","educationalLevel":"beginner","isAccessibleForFree":true,"learningResourceType":"exercise","name":"Parentheses change the order","teaches":"First formulas"},{"@id":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/#logo","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"PracticeExcel","contentUrl":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/brand/practiceexcel/icon-512.png","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://practiceexcelonline.com/brand/practiceexcel/icon-512.png"}]}
```

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](https://practiceexcelonline.com/sitemap.md) for all pages.
