Arithmetic operations

The basic arithmetic operations are addition, subtraction, multiplication and division,
although arithmetic also includes more advanced operations, such as manipulations of
percentages, square roots, exponentiation, logarithmic functions, and even trigonometric
functions, in the same vein as logarithms Arithmetic expressions must be evaluated according
to the intended sequence of operations. There are several methods to specify this, either—
most common, together with infix notation—explicitly using parentheses and relying on
precedence rules, or using a prefix or postfix notation, which uniquely fix the order of
execution by themselves. Any set of objects upon which all four arithmetic operations (except
division by zero) can be performed, and where these four operations obey the usual laws
(including distributivity), is called a field.

Addition
Addition, denoted by the symbol + is the most basic operation of arithmetic. In its simple
form, addition combines two numbers, the addends or terms, into a single number, the sum of
the numbers (such as 2 + 2 = 4 or 3 + 5 = 8).
Adding finitely many numbers can be viewed as repeated simple addition; this procedure is
known as summation, a term also used to denote the definition for "adding infinitely many
numbers" in an infinite series. Repeated addition of the number 1 is the most basic form of
counting; the result of adding 1 is usually called the successor of the original number.
Addition is commutative and associative, so the order in which finitely many terms are added
does not matter.
The number 0 has the property that, when added to any number, it yields that same number;
so, it is the identity element of addition, or the additive identity.
For every number x, there is a number denoted –x, called the opposite of x, such that x + (–x)
= 0 and (–x) + x = 0. So, the opposite of x is the inverse of x with respect to addition, or the
additive inverse of x.[1] For example, the opposite of 7 is −7, since 7 + (−7) = 0.
Addition can also be interpreted geometrically, as in the following example. If we have two
sticks of lengths 2 and 5, then, if the sticks are aligned one after the other, the length of the
combined stick becomes 7, since 2 + 5 = 7.

Subtraction
Subtraction, denoted by the symbol -, is the inverse operation to addition. Subtraction finds
the difference between two numbers, the minuend minus the subtrahend: D = M − S.
Resorting to the previously established addition, this is to say that the difference is the
number that, when added to the subtrahend, results in the minuend: D + S = M.
For positive arguments M and S holds:
If the minuend is larger than the subtrahend, the difference D is positive.
If the minuend is smaller than the subtrahend, the difference D is negative.
In any case, if minuend and subtrahend are equal, the difference D = 0.

Subtraction is neither commutative nor associative. For that reason, the construction of this
inverse operation in modern algebra is often discarded in favor of introducing the concept of
inverse elements (as sketched under § Addition), where subtraction is regarded as adding the
additive inverse of the subtrahend to the minuend, that is, a − b = a + (−b). The immediate
price of discarding the binary operation of subtraction is the introduction of the (trivial) unary
operation, delivering the additive inverse for any given number, and losing the immediate
access to the notion of difference, which is potentially misleading when negative arguments
are involved.
For any representation of numbers, there are methods for calculating results, some of which
are particularly advantageous in exploiting procedures, existing for one operation, by small
alterations also for others. For example, digital computers can reuse existing adding-circuitry
and save additional circuits for implementing a subtraction, by employing the method of
two's complement for representing the additive inverses, which is extremely easy to
implement in hardware (negation). The trade-off is the halving of the number range for a
fixed word length.
A formerly wide spread method to achieve a correct change amount, knowing the due and
given amounts, is the counting up method, which does not explicitly generate the value of the
difference. Suppose an amount P is given in order to pay the required amount Q, with P
greater than Q. Rather than explicitly performing the subtraction P − Q = C and counting out
that amount C in change, money is counted out starting with the successor of Q, and
continuing in the steps of the currency, until P is reached. Although the amount counted out
must equal the result of the subtraction P − Q, the subtraction was never really done and the
value of P − Q is not supplied by this method.

Multiplication
Multiplication is the second basic operation of arithmetic. Multiplication also combines two
numbers into a single number, the product. The two original numbers are called the multiplier
and the multiplicand, mostly both are simply called factors.
Multiplication may be viewed as a scaling operation. If the numbers are imagined as lying in
a line, multiplication by a number greater than 1, say x, is the same as stretching everything
away from 0 uniformly, in such a way that the number 1 itself is stretched to where x was.
Similarly, multiplying by a number less than 1 can be imagined as squeezing towards 0, in
such a way that 1 goes to the multiplicand.
Another view on multiplication of integer numbers (extendable to rationals but not very
accessible for real numbers) is by considering it as repeated addition. For example. 3 × 4
corresponds to either adding 3 times a 4, or 4 times a 3, giving the same result. There are
different opinions on the advantageousness of these paradigmata in math education.
Multiplication is commutative and associative; further, it is distributive over addition and
subtraction. The multiplicative identity is 1, since multiplying any number by 1 yields that
same number. The multiplicative inverse for any number except 0 is the reciprocal of this
number, because multiplying the reciprocal of any number by the number itself yields the
multiplicative identity 1. 0 is the only number without a multiplicative inverse, and the result
of multiplying any number and 0 is again 0. One says that 0 is not contained in the
multiplicative group of the numbers.
The product of a and b is written as a × b or a·b. When a or b are expressions not written
simply with digits, it is also written by simple juxtaposition: ab. In computer programming
languages and software packages (in which one can only use characters normally found on a
keyboard), it is often written with an asterisk: a * b.
Algorithms implementing the operation of multiplication for various representations of
numbers are by far more costly and laborious than those for addition. Those accessible for
manual computation either rely on breaking down the factors to single place values and
applying repeated addition, or on employing tables or slide rules, thereby mapping
multiplication to addition and vice versa. These methods are outdated and are gradually
replaced by mobile devices. Computers utilize diverse sophisticated and highly optimized
algorithms, to implement multiplication and division for the various number formats
supported in their system.

Division
Division, denoted by the symbols /, is essentially the inverse operation to multiplication.
Division finds the quotient of two numbers, the dividend divided by the divisor. Any
dividend divided by zero is undefined. For distinct positive numbers, if the dividend is larger
than the divisor, the quotient is greater than 1, otherwise it is less than or equal to 1 (a similar
rule applies for negative numbers). The quotient multiplied by the divisor always yields the
dividend.
Division is neither commutative nor associative. So as explained in § Subtraction, the
construction of the division in modern algebra is discarded in favor of constructing the
inverse elements with respect to multiplication, as introduced in § Multiplication. Hence
division is the multiplication of the dividend with the reciprocal of the divisor as factors, that
is, a ÷ b = a × 1/b.
Within the natural numbers, there is also a different but related notion called Euclidean
division, which outputs two numbers after "dividing" a natural N (numerator) by a natural D
(denominator): first a natural Q (quotient), and second a natural R (remainder) such that N =
D×Q + R and 0 ≤ R < Q.