The Arithmetic reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Arithmetic

Arithmetic is a branch of (or the forerunner of) mathematics which records elementary properties of certain operations on numbers. The traditional operations are addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, although more advanced operations, such as exponentiation and square root, are also sometimes included in this subject. Arithmetic is performed according to an order of operations.

The arithmetic of natural numbers, integers, rational numbers (in the form of fractions) and real numbers (in the form of decimal expansions) is typically studied by schoolchildren of the elementary grades. Representations of numbers in terms of percentages are generally studied then as well. However, in adult life, many people rely on calculators, computers, or the abacus to perform arithmetical computations.

The term "arithmetic" is also used to refer to elementary number theory; it is in this context that one runs across the fundamental theorem of arithmetic and arithmetical functions.

See also:

• addition in N
• additive inverse
• algorism
• associativity
• commutativity
• distributive property
• finite field arithmetic
• number line
• order of operations

Topics in mathematics related to change

Arithmetic | Calculus | Vector calculus | Analysis | Differential equations | Dynamical systems and chaos theory | Fractional calculus | List of functions

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