Four Fundamental Basic Operations

In this topic you will learn the different kind of operations.

The four basic mathematical operations--addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division--have application even in the most advanced mathematical theories. Thus, mastering them is one of the keys to progressing in an understanding of math and, specifically, of algebra.

Addition

Addition is the most basic operation of arithmetic. In its simplest form, addition combines two quantities into a single quantity, or sum. For example, say you have a group of 2 boxes and another group of 3 boxes. If you combine both groups together, you now have one group of 5 boxes. To represent this idea in mathematical terms:

2+3=5

Subtraction

Subtraction is the opposite of addition. Instead of adding quantities together, we are removing one quantity from another to find the difference between the two. Continuing the previous example, say you start with a group of 5 boxes. If you then remove 3 boxes from that group, you are left with 2 boxes. In mathematical terms:

5−3=2

Multiplication

Multiplication also combines multiple quantities into a single quantity, called the product. In fact, multiplication can be thought of as a consolidation of many additions. Specifically, the product of x and y is the result of x added together y times. For

Division 

Division is the inverse of multiplication. Rather than multiplying quantities together to result in a larger value, you are splitting a quantity into a smaller value, called the quotient. Again, to return to the box example, splitting up a group of 8 boxes into 4 equal groups results in 4 groups of 2 boxes:

8÷4=2