Types of Numbers and BODMAS

Ah, the glorious world of GCSE Maths. Get stuck into this first section and you’ll be an expert in no time. Here are some handy definitions of different types of number, and a bit about what order to do things in.

Integers

An integer is another name for a whole number - either a positive or negative number, including zero, that does not contain any decimal or fractional parts. Examples

Integers: -365, 0, 1, 17, 989, 1 234 567 890

Not integers: 0.5, 2/3, square root of 7, 13 3/4, -1000.1, 66.66, TT

Square and Cube Numbers

• Square Numbers: Numbers that are the product of a number multiplied by itself (e.g., 1, 4, 9, 16, etc.).

• Cube Numbers: Numbers that are the product of a number multiplied by itself two times (e.g., 1, 8, 27, 64, etc.).

You should know these basic squares and cubes by heart - they could come up on a non-calculator paper, so it’ll save you time if you already know what they are.

BODMAS
stands for Brackets, Orders, Division, Multiplication, Addition, and Subtraction, which is the order of operations used to evaluate mathematical expressions. BODMAS tells you the Order in which these operations should be done: Work out Brackets first, then Other things like squaring, then Divide/Multiply groups of numbers before Adding or Subtracting them.

EXAMPLE
Find the reciprocal of square root 4 + 6 x (12 - 2).

Square root of 4 + 6 x (12 - 2) = square root of 4 + 6 × 10 = square root of 4 + 60 = square root of 64 = 8

The reciprocal of 8 is 1/8.