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Arithmetic is an elementary branch of mathematics that studies numerical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In a wider sense, it also includes exponentiation, extraction of roots, and taking logarithms. Arithmetic systems can be distinguished based on the type of numbers they operate on.
The central result on true arithmetic is the undefinability theorem of Alfred Tarski (1936). It states that the set Th() is not arithmetically definable. This means that there is no formula () in the language of first-order arithmetic such that, for every sentence θ in this language,
The Egyptians and Babylonians used all the elementary arithmetic operations as early as 2000 BC. Later Roman numerals, descended from tally marks used for counting. The continuous development of modern arithmetic starts with ancient Greece, although it originated much later than the Babylonian and Egyptian examples.
The axiomatization of arithmetic provided by Peano axioms is commonly called Peano arithmetic. The importance of formalizing arithmetic was not well appreciated until the work of Hermann Grassmann , who showed in the 1860s that many facts in arithmetic could be derived from more basic facts about the successor operation and induction .
The consequence of these features is that a mathematical text is generally not understandable without some prerequisite knowledge. For example, the sentence "a free module is a module that has a basis" is perfectly correct, although it appears only as a grammatically correct nonsense, when one does not know the definitions of basis, module, and free module.
Many areas of mathematics began with the study of real world problems, before the underlying rules and concepts were identified and defined as abstract structures.For example, geometry has its origins in the calculation of distances and areas in the real world; algebra started with methods of solving problems in arithmetic.
Elementary arithmetic is a branch of mathematics involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Due to its low level of abstraction , broad range of application, and position as the foundation of all mathematics, elementary arithmetic is generally the first branch of mathematics taught in schools.
Normally, expressions and formulas do not appear alone, but are included in sentences of the current language, where expressions play the role of noun phrases and formulas play the role of clauses. Mathematics has developed a rich terminology covering a broad range of fields that study the properties of various abstract, idealized objects and ...