Understanding Addition

What is Addition?

Addition is a way to find out how many things you have in all. When you add, you are simply taking two groups of things and putting them together to make one bigger group.

For example, if you have some red balloons and some blue balloons, addition helps you find the total number of balloons you have altogether.

Meet the Plus and Equal Signs

To write math like a pro, we use special symbols instead of words.

• The plus sign ($+$) means "add" or "put together."
• The equal sign ($=$) means "is the same as" or "makes."

Let's say you have $3$ apples and your friend gives you $2$ more apples. You can write this as a math story, called an addition sentence:

$3 + 2 = 5$

We read this as: "Three plus two equals five." The numbers you add together ($3$ and $2$) are called addends, and your final answer ($5$) is called the sum.

The Magic of Order

Here is a fun secret about addition: you can add numbers in any order, and your total will always stay exactly the same!

• If you add $3 + 2$, you get $5$.
• If you flip the numbers and add $2 + 3$, you still get $5$!

So, remember: $3 + 2 = 2 + 3$.

Let's Practice!

Example 1: 3 apples and 2 apples. How many in all?

• Think: We need to put the group of $3$ and the group of $2$ together.
• Count: $1, 2, 3... 4, 5$.
• Answer: There are $5$ apples in all. The addition sentence is $3 + 2 = 5$.

Example 2: Write the addition sentence for 4 cats and 1 dog.

• Think: We have a group of $4$ and a group of $1$.
• Answer: We write the addition sentence as $4 + 1 = 5$. There are $5$ animals in total.