Basic Operations

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There are four basic operations in mathematics:

• addition
• subtraction
• multiplication
• division

These operations define actions. They are not static statements, but dynamic interactions between quantities.

Division is the action of seperating quantities into groups of a given size (grouping), or a certain number of groups (sharing). It can also be modeled with an area model. Let's look at 18 ÷ 6 = 3. Here is an example of the grouping model:

Here's a look at a sharing model:

• In the area / rectangle model, the first number in the division problem (the dividend) is the area of the rectangle, and the second number (the divisor) is one of the dimensions. The answer (the quotient) is the other dimension. Here's how that looks:

The models are simple, yet powerful. They will work for operations with fractions, decimals, and signed numbers, as well as algebraic operations. We'll learn more about those in future lessons.