Arithmetic The Foundation of Mathematics in each muffin tin's cup In math a function shows a relationship between one or more variables A function has one to one corre spondence because each function output value corresponds to only one input value One to one correspondence means matching things like a foot with a shoe It can also match two numerical values like in a function Counting is an arithmetic pro cess that matches things with numbers like matching pencils in a classroom with num bers that indicate their amounts The results of this counting exercise help determine if there are enough pencils for each student People use the counting numbers or whole numbers beginning at o to perform the six basic operations of arithmetic Many students use social media Arithmetic is used to determine how many people visit these sites When students vote in school local state or national elections arithmetic finds the winners Arithmetic is also used to tally scores in sports like base ball as well as team activities like chess tournaments Many global organizations provide people in poverty with needed food medical treatment housing and education These organizations also use arithmetic for such
INTRODUCTION things as finding the number of people who need food or the number of life saving vac cinations to send Arithmetic is one of the most useful of all sciences It is used throughout the world and our daily lives making its importance clear This resource highlights the basic operations in arithmetic a reminder that all of the sim ple operations done with numbers would be virtually impossible without
THE BEGINNINGS OF ARITHMETIC he term arithmetic comes from arithmos the Greek word for number People began doing arithmetic long before the Greeks invented the word however and even before anyone invented numbers ONE TO ONE CORRESPONDENCE Historians believe that as early as ten thou sand years ago when prehistoric people started farming they began to use arithme tic They needed to know such things as how many sheep they owned or how many rows of grain they planted or how long it would be before harvest season arrived According to historians prehistoric farmers devised an ingenious method for keeping track of things they used a process of matching that 10
THE BEGINNINGS OF ARITHMETIC AIG FRES Historians think that prehistoric shepherds figured out a smart system of matching that used pebbles or notches to keep track of every last sheep in their flock Photos com Thinkstock mathematicians call one to one correspon dence A shepherd for example could keep track of his flock by dropping a pebble into a pile or by cutting a notch in a twig for every sheep that went to pasture in the morning He could make sure that all his sheep returned home by matching them one by one to the pebbles in his pile or the notches on his twig This process of matching pebbles or notches with objects was the first step in the develop ment of arithmetic In fact two of the words 11
