ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Arithmetic number

Hey kiddo, do you know what numbers are? They are special words we use to represent how many things there are. For example, if you have three toys, we use the word "three" to represent the number of toys you have.

Now, some numbers are special because they can't be broken down into smaller numbers. We call these numbers "prime numbers." For example, the number 7 is prime because it can only be divided by 1 and 7.

But some numbers can be broken down into smaller numbers. These are called "composite numbers." For example, the number 10 can be broken down into the smaller numbers 2 and 5.

An arithmetic number is a special type of composite number. It has a special relationship to the numbers around it. An arithmetic number is a number that is exactly halfway between two other numbers, and it can be written as the sum of those two numbers divided by 2.

Let's say we have the numbers 3 and 7. The number that is halfway between them is 5. We can write 5 as (3+7)/2, which is the sum of 3 and 7 divided by 2.

Arithmetic numbers are interesting because they have some cool mathematical properties. For example, if you add or subtract the same number to both of the numbers around an arithmetic number, you will get another arithmetic number.

So, that's arithmetic numbers in a nutshell. They are composite numbers that are exactly halfway between two other numbers, and they have some interesting properties. Pretty cool, huh?