Learn Basic Operations

The four building blocks of all maths — master these and everything else gets easier.

Addition puts amounts together to find how many there are in total.

What it means

Adding means combining two or more amounts into one total. The numbers being added are called addends, and the result is called the sum.

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How to do it

  1. 1Line the numbers up in columns — ones under ones, tens under tens.
  2. 2Add the ones column first. If it makes 10 or more, carry the extra ten to the tens column.
  3. 3Keep moving left, one column at a time, adding any carried digits.
  4. 4Read off the final total.

Worked example

247 + 168 = ?

  1. 1.Ones: 7 + 8 = 15. Write 5, carry 1.
  2. 2.Tens: 1 (carried) + 4 + 6 = 11. Write 1, carry 1.
  3. 3.Hundreds: 1 (carried) + 2 + 1 = 4.
  4. 4.Total: 415
  ¹¹¹
  247
+ 168
—————
  415

Estimate first! 250 + 170 = 420, so an answer near 420 means your working is on track.

Check by adding in the reverse order: 168 + 247 should give the same answer.

Addition Practice

13 + 5 = ?
210 + 3 = ?
36 + 3 = ?
410 + 8 = ?
57 + 3 = ?