Addition facts for kids

Addition

In mathematics, addition is a basic way to combine things. It uses the symbol +. When you add two or more numbers or objects, you get a new total called the sum. You can add simple things like numbers, or more complex things like vectors and matrices.

What is Addition in Math?

In arithmetic, addition helps us find the total amount when we put two or more numbers together. The symbol for addition is "+", and we call it "plus". The answer you get from adding is called the sum.

Counting Things

Imagine you have two groups of small circles, like "o".

• One group has five circles.
• The other group has three circles.

To find the total number of circles in both groups, you can count them all. Or, you can add the numbers from each group.

How to Add Numbers

Let's say you have 5 circles in group A and 3 circles in group B. To add them, we write it like this:

5 + 3

There are special rules for adding numbers. People learn these rules, and machines use them too. For example, the rule tells us that:

5 + 3 = 8

Here's another example: Sally and Bill have 2 children. They then have 3 more children. By adding the new children to their first two, Sally and Bill now have five children in total.

Adding Numbers in Columns

The picture above shows how to add 786 and 467. We line up the numbers by their place value: units, tens, and hundreds.

• First, add the numbers in the units column: 6 + 7 = 13. We write down 3 and carry over the 1 (which is 1 ten) to the tens column.
• Next, add the numbers in the tens column: 1 (carried over) + 8 + 6 = 15. We write down 5 and carry over the 1 (which is 1 hundred) to the hundreds column.
• Finally, add the numbers in the hundreds column: 1 (carried over) + 7 + 4 = 12. We write down 2 and carry over the 1 (which is 1 thousand) to the thousands column.

So, the final answer is 1,253.

Measuring Distances

Let's say Tom wants to know the distance from his house to Sally's house.

• Bob's house is 300 meters east of Tom's house.
• Sally's house is 120 meters east of Bob's house.

We can show this like:

Tom's house 300 meters Bob's house 120 meters Sally's house

To find the total distance from Tom's house to Sally's house, we add the two distances: 300 meters plus 120 meters.

300 + 120 = 420

This means Sally's house is 420 meters to the east of Tom's house.

Addition as Making Something Bigger

Sometimes, "addition" means to make something larger or to add more of something.

Examples of Adding More

• Imagine Tom has a house. If Tom builds a new room onto his house, that new room is called an "addition" because it makes the house bigger.
• When John is making food, he might put salt in it to make it taste better. John "adds" salt to the food. The salt is a food additive, which is something added to the food.

Addition Table

This table shows the sums when you add numbers from 0 to 10. You find the first number in the left column and the second number in the top row. Where they meet is their sum.

Related pages

• Identity element
• Order of operations

Images for kids

• 

  Part of Charles Babbage's Difference Engine including the addition and carry mechanisms

• 

  A circular slide rule

See also

In Spanish: Adición (matemática) para niños