What is Arithmetic?

Arithmetic is often used as a synonym for math, but there is a difference between arithmetic math and mathematics. In general, arithmetic math is math that deals with the numbers themselves, whereas mathematics is more about the theories of numbers. When a person starts learning math, they’ll begin with arithmetic math and then go on to learn more about more advanced mathematics. It’s crucial to have this foundation and to understand what arithmetic math is before moving on to more advanced topics.

Arithmetic Pronunciation

Arithmetic is pronounced similar to how it’s spelled, which makes sounding out the word easy to do. Typically, it’s pronounced as ar-ith-MET-ic with emphasis on the “met” part of the word. Pronunciation can vary by location; however, this is the most common pronunciation for the word. Other pronunciations will have more of an emphasis on the “th” sound, and this is also correct.

Arithmetic Definition and the Difference From Mathematics



Arithmetic is working with the numbers themselves. This includes counting, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. It also includes fractions, positive and negative numbers, the order of operations, sequencing, and more. Basically, arithmetic math is how the numbers work together to get an answer to a problem.

Learning arithmetic math is usually the beginning of a person’s math education starting with the basics, although there are far more advanced components to arithmetic a person can delve into later. According to the arithmetic definition, arithmetic starts with learning how to count, then progresses through adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, sequences, and more detailed topics. As a huge area of math, it is the foundation for more advanced mathematics.



Mathematics, on the other hand, includes more advanced problems like those found in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus. They are based on the same topics a person learns when they’re learning arithmetic math, but go further into the theories involved and not just how the numbers work together to get an answer.

Knowing the Arithmetic Math Definition is Important

Most people aren’t sure why they need to know the difference between the types of math. However, there are important distinctions between them. When a person understands the basic definition of what type of math they’ll be doing, such as arithmetic math, they can then understand how to solve the problem before them. With more complex problems, knowing if they’ll be using arithmetic or another type of math can help them determine what they need to do to solve the problem, such as whether they should use the sequencing formula or a geometric formula. Once they understand the definition, however, this isn’t something they’ll think about. It will just be something they automatically do.

Arithmetic Examples – Basic Examples

Viewing some examples of arithmetic can make it easier to understand exactly what arithmetic math is compared to mathematics. Simply counting whole numbers is the most basic example of arithmetic and the first thing a person learns to do. Other simple examples include 2+4=4 and 17+27=44. Multiplying numbers like 4 times 7 or 23 times 59 as well as dividing numbers like 14 divided by 2 or 330 divided by 10 are other examples of basic arithmetic.

Mathematics, on the other hand, can include the radius of a circle, the formula for determining the sides and angles in a triangle, or understanding how to do mathematical proofs. These are more advanced and often use a variety of symbols and formulas instead of just the numbers.



Arithmetic Problems and the Beginnings of Learning Arithmetic

Students initially learning arithmetic will start out with basic problems once they’ve learned how to count. These problems include adding and subtracting numbers under 10 and then will progress to adding and subtracting higher numbers. Later, multiplying and dividing are added to repertoire. They’ll learn how to add or subtract smaller numbers on paper and will then progress to being able to mentally add, subtract, multiply or divide. The more they focus on learning arithmetic, the more they can do difficult problems without added help from a calculator.

Arithmetic Formulas – The Basic Formulas Everyone Will Use

As mentioned above, the most basic formulas for arithmetic include adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. These are usually taught in the beginning of a person’s journey to learn math and are the most basic formulas necessary to truly understand not only arithmetic but more advanced topics like algebra or calculus. Knowing how the numbers interact and how they can work together to get to the answer is vital throughout a person’s education.

Once the person the student has conquered the basics, they’ll learn what order to do problems to find the answer to a question involving two or more of these basic formulas. This is more complex and the problems need to be done in the proper order, ca