Arithmetic or arithmetics (from the Greek arithmos, "number") is the oldest[1] and most

elementary branch of mathematics. It consists of the study of numbers, especially the properties of
the traditional operations between themaddition, subtraction, multiplicationand division. Arithmetic
is an elementary part of number theory, and number theory is considered to be one of the top-level
divisions of modern mathematics, along with algebra, geometry, and analysis. The
terms arithmetic and higher arithmetic were used until the beginning of the 20th century as
synonyms for number theory and are sometimes still used to refer to a wider part of number theory.[2]

History[edit]
The prehistory of arithmetic is limited to a small number of artifacts which may indicate the
conception of addition and subtraction, the best-known being the Ishango bone fromcentral Africa,
dating from somewhere between 20,000 and 18,000 BC, although its interpretation is disputed.[3]
The earliest written records indicate the Egyptians and Babylonians used all the elementary
arithmetic operations as early as 2000 BC. These artifacts do not always reveal the specific process
used for solving problems, but the characteristics of the particular numeral system strongly influence
the complexity of the methods. The hieroglyphic system forEgyptian numerals, like the later Roman
numerals, descended from tally marks used for counting. In both cases, this origin resulted in values
that used a decimal base but did not include positional notation. Complex calculations with Roman
numerals required the assistance of a counting board or the Roman abacus to obtain the results.
Early number systems that included positional notation were not decimal, including
the sexagesimal (base 60) system for Babylonian numerals and the vigesimal (base 20) system that
defined Maya numerals. Because of this place-value concept, the ability to reuse the same digits for
different values contributed to simpler and more efficient methods of calculation.
The continuous historical development of modern arithmetic starts with the Hellenistic civilization of
ancient Greece, although it originated much later than the Babylonian and Egyptian examples. Prior
to the works of Euclid around 300 BC, Greek studies in mathematics overlapped with philosophical
and mystical beliefs. For example, Nicomachussummarized the viewpoint of the
earlier Pythagorean approach to numbers, and their relationships to each other, in his Introduction to
Arithmetic.
Greek numerals were used by Archimedes, Diophantus and others in a positional notation not very
different from ours. Because the ancient Greeks lacked a symbol for zero (until the Hellenistic
period), they used three separate sets of symbols. One set for the unit's place, one for the ten's
place, and one for the hundred's. Then for the thousand's place they would reuse the symbols for the
unit's place, and so on. Their addition algorithm was identical to ours, and their multiplication
algorithm was only very slightly different. Their long division algorithm was the same, and the square
root algorithm that was once taught in school was known to Archimedes, who may have invented it.

He preferred it toHero's method of successive approximation because, once computed, a digit

doesn't change, and the square roots of perfect squares, such as 7485696, terminate immediately
as 2736. For numbers with a fractional part, such as 546.934, they used negative powers of 60
instead of negative powers of 10 for the fractional part 0.934.[4] The ancient Chinese used a similar
positional notation. Because they also lacked a symbol for zero, they had one set of symbols for the
unit's place, and a second set for the ten's place. For the hundred's place they then reused the
symbols for the unit's place, and so on. Their symbols were based on the ancient counting rods. It is
a complicated question to determine exactly when the Chinese started calculating with positional
representation, but it was definitely before 400 BC.[5] The Bishop of Syria, Severus Sebokht
(650 AD), "Indians possess a method of calculation that no word can praise enough. Their rational
system of mathematics, or of their method of calculation. I mean the system using nine symbols." [6]
Leonardo of Pisa (Fibonacci) in 1200 AD wrote in Liber Abaci "The method of the Indians (Modus
Indoram) surpasses any known method to compute. It's a marvelous method. They do their
computations using nine figures and symbol zero".[7]
The gradual development of HinduArabic numerals independently devised the place-value concept
and positional notation, which combined the simpler methods for computations with a decimal base
and the use of a digit representing 0. This allowed the system to consistently represent both large
and small integers. This approach eventually replaced all other systems. In the early 6th century
AD, the Indian mathematician Aryabhata incorporated an existing version of this system in his work,
and experimented with different notations. In the 7th century, Brahmagupta established the use of 0
as a separate number and determined the results for multiplication, division, addition and subtraction
of zero and all other numbers, except for the result of division by 0. His contemporary,
the Syriac bishop Severus Sebokht described the excellence of this system as "... valuable methods
of calculation which surpass description". The Arabs also learned this new method and called
it hesab.

Leibniz's Stepped Reckoner was the first calculator that could perform all four arithmetic operations.

Although the Codex Vigilanus described an early form of Arabic numerals (omitting 0) by 976 AD,
Fibonacci was primarily responsible for spreading their use throughout Europe after the publication
of his book Liber Abaci in 1202. He considered the significance of this "new" representation of
numbers, which he styled the "Method of the Indians" (Latin Modus Indorum), so fundamental that all

related mathematical foundations, including the results of Pythagoras and the algorism describing
the methods for performing actual calculations, were "almost a mistake" in comparison.
In the Middle Ages, arithmetic was one of the seven liberal arts taught in universities.
The flourishing of algebra in the medieval Islamic world and in Renaissance Europe was an
outgrowth of the enormous simplification ofcomputation through decimal notation.
Various types of tools exist to assist in numeric calculations. Examples include slide rules (for
multiplication, division, and trigonometry) andnomographs in addition to the electrical calculator.

Arithmetic operations[edit]
See also: Algebraic operation
The basic arithmetic operations are addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, although this
subject also includes more advanced operations, such as manipulations ofpercentages, square
roots, exponentiation, and logarithmic functions. Arithmetic is performed according to an order of
operations. Any set of objects upon which all four arithmetic operations (except division by 0) can be
performed, and where these four operations obey the usual laws, is called a field.[8]

Addition (+)[edit]
Main article: Addition
Addition is the basic operation of arithmetic. In its simplest form, addition combines two numbers,
the addends or terms, into a single number, the sum of the numbers (Such as2 + 2 = 4 or 3 + 5 =

8).
Adding more than two numbers can be viewed as repeated addition; this procedure is known
as summation and includes ways to add infinitely many numbers in an infinite series; repeated
addition of the number 1 is the most basic form of counting.
Addition is commutative and associative so the order the terms are added in does not matter.
The identity element of addition (the additive identity) is 0, that is, adding 0 to any number yields that
same number. Also, the inverse element of addition (the additive inverse) is the opposite of any
number, that is, adding the opposite of any number to the number itself yields the additive identity, 0.
For example, the opposite of 7 is 7, so 7 + (7) = 0.
Addition can be given geometrically as in the following example:
If we have two sticks of lengths 2 and 5, then if we place the sticks one after the other, the
length of the stick thus formed is 2 + 5 = 7.