Addition

Addition is the mathematical process of putting things together, that is to say joining. With the addition of two numbers, the process may be thought of moving a certain distance in the positive direction. If one considers the following equation:

$a+b = c$

The plus sign or addition symbol ( + ) marks that addition is preformed on its adjacent numerals (a and b). C is called the sum of a and b. This equation may be calculated by moving a, b whole units in the positive direction.

Computation

Taking in account the analogy from the previous section,

$3 + 4 = ?$

may be thought of as moving 3 in the positive direction by 4 units:

$3 + (1+1+1+1)$

with may be counted to achieve the answer of 7.

Properties

• Addition is commutative: $a + b = b + a$
• Addition is associative: $a+(b+c)=(a+b)+c$
• Addition has an identity element: zero.

In Real Life

Addition is widely used in real life like in calculating the cost of products, computing bills, and many others.

Estimation

Addition sums are possible to be estimated. It is done by rounding off each addend to the nearest n significant figures (where n is a whole number), and adding both of the rounded numbers.

See also

• Multiplication