What is Addition?

Addition is a very important strategy in math. You may not realize it, but you can use addition for almost anything that you do.

But first, you need to learn how to do addition.

When you do addition, you are adding up numbers to find a total. The numbers you are adding are called addends. In this addition sentence, the two addends are 8 and 4. Those are the two numbers you are adding to get the answer.

Do you realize that there is a symbol in between the 8 and 4? This is called the plus sign. It means you’re adding. At the end, do you see another sign with two lines? That’s called the equal sign. The equal sign is put right after the last addend.

The answer to an addition problem is called a sum. It is the last number in an addition sentence.

Now that you know what everything means, let’s get started on some basic tips and problems.

Like I told you in the beginning, addition means adding. If I were to say that I have 2 pieces of candy, and you have 3 pieces of candy. I gave you my 2 pieces of candy . Now, if you count every piece of candy you have, you’ll get 5 pieces of candy. That’s how you add numbers.

It’s time for some real addition problems!

ADDITION PROBLEMS

Sally has 4 apples. Nick has 2 apples. Nick gives Sally his 2 apples. How many apples does Sally have now?

ANSWER

Sally has 6 apples.

Mat got 5 pencils from his friends house. His sister got 3 pencils. She gave him her 3 pencils. How many pencils does Mat have?

ANSWER

Mat has 8 pencils.

Now you are officially a master at addition!