Order of Operations (With Exponents / PEMDAS)

Name: Order of Operations (With Exponents / PEMDAS) | Mystery Detective Worksheets | Grades 5–8 | Printable Detective Pack
Brand: Kiwiland Education
SKU: 11504808
Price: 4.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Mystery Detective Worksheets · Grades 5–8 · Printable Detective Pack

5th grade math6th grade mathGrade 5Grade 6Grade 7Grade 8Answer keys included

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Inside the case file

Order of operations worksheets with exponents and parentheses, written for your 6th grade class. Each of the five CSI Mini Mystery Detective math cases mixes squares and cubes with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and there are no negative numbers. Use them as a PEMDAS activity in math centers or send them home as homework. There's nothing to prep, and you get an answer key for every case.

The exponents here are squares and cubes, and most expressions put one inside parentheses. Students have to work the exponent before they multiply or divide, and this pack gives them plenty of practice at that step. Every answer points to one suspect to cross off. A student who reaches the bottom of the page with a single name left has solved the order of operations correctly.

The Cases

The Missing Phone - tracking down a stolen phone
The Missing Teacher - finding a kidnapped teacher
The Principal's Car - a car taken from school
The Bank Job - a robbery at the bank
Diamond Heist - diamonds missing from a chest

What's Inside

Five one-page cases of order of operations expressions
Exponents and parentheses on every page
Whole numbers throughout, with no negatives
Answer keys for all five cases
A teacher instruction page

What Is a CSI Mini Mystery Detective?

Each case is one printed page. The story at the top sets up the crime, and the suspects are listed down the page with a number for each one. Students solve the expressions and cross off any suspect whose number they get. When they're done, one suspect remains.

When to Use This Resource

Bring this in once your class has met exponents and is ready to fit them into PEMDAS. If they've already done the no exponents pack, this is the next step up. It also suits a review week before a unit test. You could give it to a small group, leave it for a sub, or use it in homeschool.

Grade Levels

Written for 6th grade, where exponents join the order of operations (6.EE.A.1). It works as review in 7th grade, and as a challenge for 5th graders who have finished the parentheses work.

Why Teachers Love These Cases

Print and hand out
Exponents, parentheses and all four operations together
Students find their own slips as they work
Five cases for five different days

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