Math for kids - Addition of numbers

Addition is the most commonly used operation by the young and the old in various contexts. Let us have a discussion on addition of numbers without using a calculator.

Addition of two numbers.

Let the numbers to be added be 8756 and 4932. Let us write the numbers such that the digits of the same place value come one below the other as shown below.

Draw a line below the second number. Now you can start adding the digits in units place. 2+6=8. Write this total below the line under 2 as follows.

Now add the digits in tens place. 3+5=8. Write this sum below the line under 3 as follows.



Now add the digits in Hundreds place. 9+7=16. We post only 6 on the left side of 8 and we put a dot above 7 to show that 1 is carried over to the next place value as shown below.



Now add the digits in thousands place and 1, which is carried over from the previous addition. 1+4+8=13. Put a dot above 8 and write 3 next to the digit 6 as follows.

Now put 1 next to 3 to represent the carried over dot and finish the sum.



So the sum of 8756 and 4932 is 13688.

Let us take another example of addition.

Let us add 7953 and 4596

Can you explain how we have added these numbers? Why did we put two dots above the digits 5, 9 and 7? These are put to represent the carried over 1 which we obtained after adding the digits in tens place, hundreds place and ten thousandth’s places respectively.

Now let us take an example of adding many two digit numbers. Say we have to add about 10 numbers, 34, 67, 89, 48, 86, 43, 12, 38, 42, 36. We write the numbers one below the other as follows.

Draw a line under the last number. Start adding from the bottom most units place. 6+2=8, 8+8=16. Stop here. 16 is 6 more than 10. To represent 10 we put a dot above 8 as follows.

We are leaving behind 10 as a dot to carry over while adding tens digit. Now add 6 to the digit above the dot which is 2. 6+2=8. And 8+3=11. Stop here to put one more dot above 3 to represent another carry over value as follows.

Now add 1 to 6, the digit above the dot. 1+6=7. And 7+8=15. Put a dot and continue the same way till all the ones digits are added. Finally we get 5, which we write as the sum in the ones place below the line as follows.

We count all the dots in ones place which are to be carried over to tens place. We get 5 dots. Now we can add 5 to the digits in tens place starting from the bottom. That is 5+3=8, 8+4=12. Put a dot above 4. Now add 2+3=5, 5+1=6, 6+4=10. Put a dot above 4 and continue adding 0+8=8, 8+4=12. Put a dot above 4. Continue adding 2 and the digit above 4, which is 8. i.e. 2+8=10. Put a dot above 8. Now add 0 to the digit above 8, which is 6. i.e. 0+6=6. And 6+3=9. Write this digit under tens digit below the line as the sum.

Now count the number of dots put in tens place. There are 4 dots. Put this as the hundreds place and finish the sum.

Let us take another question of the same type for addition.

Add the following numbers: 32,45,47,82,71,59,36,52,40,18.

Adding numbers less than 10 is easier that adding numbers more than ten. The method described here will help you to add numbers faster than the conventional method. You may practice this method by adding your own numbers.