Hey! Welcome to the first page that you should go to. If this wasn't, then uh.. ok I guess. I'll explain addition, subtraction, division, multiplication and exponents! I recommend you learn each arithmetic operation in order the way I listed it, as they will become harder the more you go down. Bonus: Equal sign.
First, addition. The most simple arithmetic operation. Addition is basically just combining numbers, such as 1 and 2, written as 1+2. The order of numbers in addition does not matter, so 1 + 2 and 2 + 1 are the same. Now, just count up by how much the second number is, like this!
See? Easy! Just keep adding ones until you add the amount of the second number. You can also do the first, but the number you wanna add to has to be the second then.
Oh, I forgot! You don't need to count by ones, you can also skip count. If you know multiplication, you know skip counting. So, lets try 10+15. You can just add 5 three times to 10!
Bonus Tip: Addition is the opposite of subtraction.
Now you know all about addition!
Second, subtraction. Subtraction is referred with the symbol - (The minus/dash symbol). Subtraction is like removing ones, or you can remove skip count too! Lets try 10-2. Remember though, order matters in subtraction unlike addition.
See? Easy! It's just like the opposite of addition. Now, what if we do 15-10 with skip counting? We can remove 5 two times from 10.
Yup! It's that easy. Once you know addition or subtraction, you can learn the opposite!
Bonus Tip: Subtraction is the opposite of addition.
Now you know all about subtraction!
Third, multiplication. Multiplication is referred with either the symbol x or the symbol *. (The letter x or the asterisk. I prefer the asterisk as the letter x is used for variables.). Multiplication is like repeating addition, and is basically just pure skip counting while adding. Like addition, the order of numbers does not matter. Lets do 3*4 as an example!
Multiplication is hard with big numbers, so remember that you can use your brain! MENTAL MATH YEAH! Did you know multiplication wasn’t invented by one person, but evolved over time? The earliest evidence though was found in Babylon around 4,000 years ago!
Noice! Once you understand your times tables, multiplication gets easy!
Bonus Tip: Multiplication is the repeated form of addition.
Now you know all about multiplication!
Exponents before division? Why? Well, it's simple! Just repeated multiplication. Just multiply the number by itself how many times it says! It's used by putting a tiny number next to the top right of another number, or the ^ (up arrow) symbol. Lets try 5^2.
Using a ^2 is called SQUARING. The reason why you put a ^2 at the end of units like cm or m when calculating area, such as 10cm^2 or 54m^2, is because you're calculating the AREA (A square most likely) and not a LENGTH. It's easy to remember the squares of numbers. I remember them from 1 to 12! Lets see.
See how it grows quickly? That's how big exponents are... but also how simple. They just increase by each odd number! (1+3=4, 4+5=9, 9+7=16 and so on)
Bonus Tip: There is also ROOTING, the opposite of exponents, but it's a bit TOO complex to show on the Fundamental Arithmetic page.
Now you know all about exponents!
Finally, division. Division is very complex, but its easy when you understand it! Now you may think its just repeated subtraction, but there's more to it. It's referred to by the symbol / (slash) or ÷ (obelus) but can also be used by a straight line separating 2 numbers. To do division, you have to see how many times a number can go in another. The number being divided is the dividend, and the number dividing that one is called the divisor. The answer is called the quotient. If there are left over parts, it is a remainder, but proper division can instead express remainders as decimals or fractions. Before we try an equation, there is a strategy for division named long division, so remember that you can use that! Anyways, lets try an easy one like 10/2.
I can't explain much more without taking up the page a bit and ruining the format im keeping, but remember theres a website I linked that you can use! Now lets try with a big number... we might get a remainder! 101/23.
Lets go! If you still don't understand, which you may not, go on and watch this video from math antics.
Bonus Tip: Computers hate division! Not in the literal sense, but because it takes multiple, slow and repetitive loops to get the answer.
Now you know all about division!
Oh! A bonus section? Well, lets see here... Equality! This isn't an arithmetic operation, but actually a logical relationship. It is referred to by the equal sign =. Wait! There are actually more types of equality... but they're unbalanced!
Think of equality as a balance. Numbers can be equal (=), less than (<), or more than (>). Actually, they can even be not equal at all (≠)! Why not even just... approximately equal (≈)? There's lots of balances, and you can use them to COMPARE numbers! Lets have an example. 9 (blank) 10. What BALANCE (< or >) do you think fits here? It's the < symbol! Think of the smaller number eating the bigger number. So, this means 9 is less than 10. Now, for 7 (blank) 7.1, what EQUAL SIGN (=, ≈ or ≠) do you think BEST fits here? It's the ≈ symbol! While you may think it might be not equal, 7 and 7.1 are VERY close. So, if you don't care about some numbers being just a bit wrong, then use ≈!
Bonus Tip: Hey, even bonus areas need a bonus tip. the ≈ sign is APPROXIMATELY equal. It is not EQUAL! Do not mix them up! 7 is 7 and 7 is APPROXIMATELY 7.1!
And now, you know about EVERY arithmetic operation!