Question

What are basic arithmetic skills?

Answer 1

Hint: Basic math skills are those that involve making calculations of amounts, sizes or other measurements. All these skills are necessary for doing numerical calculations accurately and efficiently. We know that the basic arithmetic skills are the one required by us to do the basic calculations for numbers, values, amounts or any other measurements. So, we will understand what the basic arithmetic skills are and explain each of them with examples for better understanding of the concept.

Complete step-by-step solution:
We have been asked to describe the basic arithmetic skills. We know that mathematics is all about numbers and calculations. We need certain skills to do these calculations and obtain the results. To help us with that there are four basic arithmetic skills which includes addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. We also have some other arithmetic operations which are required for performing mathematical simplifications such as decimals, percentages, fractions, etc. We will see in detail each of these skills and understand them with the help of examples.
1. Addition: It is the skill used to join or combine or add any two or more numbers. It is also called the sum or total. It is denoted by the symbol, “\[+\]”. For example, if we need to find the sum of 3, 34, 6 and 90, then we use this skill and write it as,
3 + 34 + 6 + 90 = 133
So, the total is 133.
2. Subtraction: This skill is used to denote the difference between numbers or when we remove certain numbers from a number. It is the opposite of addition. It is denoted by the symbol “\[-\]”. For example, if there are 50 people in a party and 23 of them leave, how many of them are left? So in order to find the remaining people, we will deduct the number of people who left from the total, that is,50 - 23 = 37. So, the number of people left at the party is 37.
3. Multiplication: This skill is used to add a number to itself for a number of times. It is often referred to as multiply or times and is denoted by the symbol “\[\times \]”. For example, if we add 6 5 times, 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6, we get the answer as 30. So, we can use this skill and find the answer quickly by doing 6 $\times $ 5 = 30.
4. Division: This skill allows us to share or divide a number into some parts. It is considered the opposite of multiplication. It is usually denoted by the symbol “\[\div \]”. For example, if we have 25 mangoes that have to be given to 5 people equally, then we write it as, 25 $\div $ 5 = 5. So, that means 25 has been equally divided among 5 people and they get 5 pieces each.
5. Percentage: It is a skill that is used to find a portion of a whole, per 100. We need to find the percentage when we have to represent certain tasks as a portion of the total. We need it for calculating a lot of things, like taxes, marks, shares etc. It is generally calculated by dividing the given value out of the total and multiplying by 100. For example, if a child gets 89 marks out of 150, how can we represent it in percentage? So, we write it as $\dfrac{89}{150}\times 100=59.3$. So, the percentage of marks is 59.3.
6. Fractions and Decimals: We can say that the fractions are a portion of a whole number, and the decimal is the numerical representation of that fraction. For example, three fourths can be written as $\dfrac{3}{4}$ in fraction and as 0.75 in decimals.

Note: We are taught these basic arithmetic skills when we start learning mathematics in school. We have to keep practicing them to get the concepts registered in our minds at an early age. We have to do so by solving a lot of examples until we become proficient with these skills and we must remember that these are the basic skills which form the basis for all types of mathematical calculations. We need these to calculate the taxes to be paid, in algebra, trigonometry and so on.