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.

Multiplication may be viewed in several ways. It can be seen as a repeated addition, or putting groups together model, and as an rectangle model involving dimensions and area. In the grouping model, a given number of groups of equal quantity are combined to make up a total:

Using the commutative property of multiplication, the opposite is also true:

• You might have noticed the similarity of the above two outcomes. The rectangle model (also called the area model) for multiplication actually contains both of the above models within it:

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.