A calculation is a deliberate mathematical process that transforms one or more inputs into one or more outputs or ''results''. The term is used in a variety of senses, from the very definite

arithmetic Arithmetic () is an elementary part of mathematics that consists of the study of the properties of the traditional operations on numbers—addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, and extraction of roots. In the 19th c ...

al calculation of using an

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing ...

, to the vague heuristics of calculating a strategy in a competition, or calculating the chance of a successful relationship between two people. For example, multiplying 7 by 6 is a simple algorithmic calculation. Extracting the square root or the

cube root In mathematics, a cube root of a number is a number such that . All nonzero real numbers, have exactly one real cube root and a pair of complex conjugate cube roots, and all nonzero complex numbers have three distinct complex cube roots. ...

of a number using mathematical models is a more complex algorithmic calculation. Statistical estimations of the likely election results from opinion polls also involve algorithmic calculations, but produces ranges of possibilities rather than exact answers. To ''calculate'' means to determine mathematically in the case of a number or amount, or in the case of an abstract problem to deduce the answer using logic, reason or

common sense ''Common Sense'' is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected various moral and political argu ...

. The English word derives from the Latin ''calculus'', which originally meant a small stone in the gall-bladder (from Latin ''calx''). It also meant a pebble used for calculating, or a small stone used as a counter in an

abacus The abacus (''plural'' abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool which has been used since ancient times. It was used in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, centuries before the adoption of the H ...

(Latin ''abacus'', Greek ''abax''). The abacus was an instrument used by Greeks and Romans for arithmetic calculations, preceding the slide-rule and the

electronic calculator An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics. The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. Pocket-size ...

, and consisted of perforated pebbles sliding on iron bars. Calculation is a prerequisite for

computation Computation is any type of arithmetic or non-arithmetic calculation that follows a well-defined model (e.g., an algorithm). Mechanical or electronic devices (or, historically, people) that perform computations are known as ''computers''. An esp ...

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"The Lifting of the Veil in the Operations of Calculation"
is a manuscript, from the 18th-century, in Arabic, by Ibn al-Banna' al-Marrakushi, about calculation processes {{Authority control Elementary arithmetic Information

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