The value of is:

Correct — A. The line is 9 − 5 × 6 + {29 − (7 − 2)} ÷ 8. Clear the innermost bracket first, then divide and multiply, then add and subtract left to right.

(7 − 2) = 5
{29 − 5} = 24
24 ÷ 8 = 3
5 × 6 = 30

9 − 30 + 3 = −18 → option (a).

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  18 — 18 is the answer without its minus sign. 5 × 6 = 30 is subtracted from a 9, so the running total is already −21 before the +3 arrives, and the result has to be negative.
• (c)
  −8 — −8 has the right sign and the wrong size. The division in the line is 24 ÷ 8 = 3, and 9 − 30 + 3 is −18, so −8 needs one of those three values changed.
• (d)
  8 — 8 is the divisor carried into the answer. Once 29 − (7 − 2) = 24 has been divided by 8, the 8 is spent and only the quotient 3 joins 9 − 30.

BODMAS is an order of ranks, not a left-to-right rule, and two of its ranks are shared.

Brackets clear from the inside out — round inside curly inside square — so (7 − 2) goes before the brace that holds it.

Division and multiplication rank equally, and so do addition and subtraction. Operations of equal rank are done left to right, which is why 9 − 30 + 3 means (9 − 30) + 3 = −18 and not 9 − (30 + 3) = −24.

Key facts

• Brackets are cleared innermost first — round, then curly, then square.
• Multiplication and division share a rank and are done left to right.
• Addition and subtraction share the next rank and are also done left to right.
• 9 − 5 × 6 + {29 − (7 − 2)} ÷ 8 = 9 − 30 + 3 = −18.

Common traps

• Reading the line strictly left to right, which turns 9 − 5 × 6 into 24.
• Clearing the brace before the round bracket sitting inside it.
• Marking the positive option because the expression looks additive, when 5 × 6 alone exceeds the 9 it is taken from.

No directly related past PYQ was found.