Math Antics - What Is Arithmetic?

Arithmetic is like having a super-simple toolbox for working with numbers.

Imagine you have 3 apples and get 2 more, arithmetic helps you figure out how many apples you have now, which is 5! That’s addition, one of the basic tools in the arithmetic toolbox. If you had 6 cookies and gave away 2, arithmetic tells you you have 4 left, that’s subtraction.

If you have 3 boxes with 4 toys each, arithmetic can help you find out how many toys you have altogether, that's multiplication. And if you have 12 candies to share equally among 3 friends, arithmetic helps you know each friend gets 4 candies, that’s division.

• Addition is like putting your toys together.
• Subtraction is like giving some of your toys away.
• Multiplication is like having several groups of the same number of toys.
• Division is like splitting your toys into equal parts.

Arithmetic gives you simple, everyday tools to work with numbers, just like a kid uses a small toolbox to fix things around the house!