Addition, usually denoted with the plus sign +, is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the other three being subtraction, multiplication, and division. The addition of two whole numbers results in the total or sum of those values combined. For example, the adjacent image shows two columns of apples, one with three apples and the other with two apples, totaling to five apples. This observation is expressed as "3 + 2 = 5", which is read as "three plus two equals five".
Besides counting items, addition can also be defined and executed without referring to concrete objects, using abstractions called numbers instead, such as integers, real numbers, and complex numbers. Addition belongs to arithmetic, a branch of mathematics. In algebra, another area of mathematics, addition can also be performed on abstract objects such as vectors, matrices, and elements of additive groups.
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