Arithmetic is an elementary branch of mathematics that deals with numerical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. In a wider sense it also covers exponentiation, the extraction of roots and the taking of logarithms. Its practice reaches back to antiquity: the Egyptians and the Sumerians had already invented numeral systems to solve practical arithmetic problems by about 3000 BCE. Arithmetic is often distinguished from the related field of number theory, which narrows its focus to the integers and their properties, such as divisibility, factorization and primality.
Facts
Central QuestionArithmetic asks how quantities can be represented as numbers and combined by the basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and, more broadly, what structural and axiomatic properties those operations have. 1 Key DebateScholars disagree on how broadly to define arithmetic's own scope: a narrow characterization restricts it to computation with natural numbers, while the more common view extends it to integers, rational numbers, real numbers and sometimes complex numbers, and some definitions restrict it further to numerical calculation alone. 1 Classification
Pure or Applied Connections
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Source Addition (Wikipedia)
Source Euclidean Division (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Arithmetic (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
Arithmetic is the fundamental branch of mathematics that studies numbers and their operations. In particular, it deals with numerical calculations using the arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Definition, etymology, and related fields section
There are disagreements about its precise definition. According to a narrow characterization, arithmetic deals only with natural numbers. However, the more common view is to include operations on integers, rational numbers, real numbers, and sometimes also complex numbers in its scope.
Lead section, ancient numeral systems sentence
Ancient civilizations like the Egyptians and the Sumerians invented numeral systems to solve practical arithmetic problems in about 3000 BCE.
View the Source Euclidean Division (Wikipedia)
Includes: Euclidean Division, Lead sentenceQuote, Includes: Euclidean Division, Lead sentence
In arithmetic, Euclidean division, or division with remainder, is the process of dividing one integer (the dividend) by another
Addition (Wikipedia)
Includes: Addition, Lead sentenceQuote, Includes: Addition, Lead sentence
us sign +, is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the other three being subtraction, multiplication, and division.
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