Hi, Sue and welcome to the forum. Nice to "see" you and hope you enjoy your visits.
I am going to make the assumption you have an iPad2 running the latest iOS (6.0.1) and that you are using the "official" Facebook app. I make those assumptions because those are what I will be using to describe the steps to you...
The first step is to get the photo to Facebook. You can do that in three ways.
One, in the Facebook app, at your profile, press the Photo button. A pop-up should appear for you to select to "Take Photo or Video" or "Choose From Library." Make your choice, post something if you wish and send it.
Two, in your profile on Facebook, scroll down (left side) to the Photos. Press that line and then press the folder Mobile Uploads and it will open. At the upper right should be a plus sign for you to get the same pop-up as in option one above. However, if you've never uploaded a photo, this folder may not be there...
Three, you can send a photo directly from your Photos app (the flower icon). Open the app so you see all the thumbnails of your pictures. At the upper right is a button titled "Edit." press that and then tap the photo(s) you wish to send to Facebook (you will see a blue-circled check mark on each picture you tap). Then, at the upper left, another button should now be highlighted ("Share"). Tap that button and you will get an option to send it to Facebook. You'll get a little pop-up that will allow you to make a comment if you wish. Then, hit the post button and you're done.
Well, there actually is a fourth in that you can use the Camera app to take a picture and then, once the photo is taken, send it from there. It's the same process as from the Photo app (sharing) once you've taken the photo...
Okay, that's the hard part - getting your photos to Facebook using the iPad. The easy part is making one of those photos your profile picture.
Go to Facebook and select the Photo tab again. Once you are there, open any folder so you can open any picture. Once the picture is displaying, press and HOLD it until you get another pop-up. This one will offer you to opportunity to "Make Profile Picture." Select that option and you are done! Whew!
Bit more than you probably wanted - but I hope some of this is of help. Good luck and holler back if you need more assistance.
Marilyn
P.S. And you're not dumb - just in a learning curve. Heck, to be honest, I still understand 9/10s of Facebook. Barely use it (I just like to look at family pictures).