Order of Operations Game

Order of Operations Game: '49 or Bust'­ is a game all about manipulating numbers and Maths symbols to achieve a target number. Heaps of thinking in this one.

Game in a Nutshell:

Students are dealt a hand of numeral cards and then combine the numeral cards with the operation cards to create an algorithm that gets them as close as they can to 49.

What you Need:

2 or 3 players
2 sets of numeral cards (1 to 9)
2 wild cards
1 set of operations cards for each player
1 calculator for each player.

How to Play:

1. Decide who is dealing.
2. Dealer shuffles the cards and deals 4 or 5 numeral cards to each player.
3. The group then have 1 minute to arrange their numbers with any or all of the operations cards to get as close as they can to 49. NB The 'wildcard' can be used to represent any numeral the player dealt it nominates.

NB Calculators may be used at any phase in the game .

How the Win:

- The winner is the player closest to 49 without going over.

Tournament:

- Play 10 rounds and keep a tally of wins.

Variations:

* Limit the operations cards
* Experiment with different totals to aim for e.g. 24, 37 etc

Taking it Further:

* Test calculators to find one that does Order of Operations and one that doesn't. Experiment with them to prove the Order of Operations.

* Demonstrate and discuss BODMAS

Included in this Download

One set of Numeral Cards - 1-10
One set of Math Symbol Cards (), +, -, x & ÷
Two Wild Cards

Bonus Cards for Playing Other Number Based Games:
One set of Written Number Cards - One to Ten
One set of Ten Frame Cards - 1 to 10