# What is Subtraction?

Go back to  'PEMDAS'

Taking away from something is subtraction. Playing with colourful counters, learn how you can subtract numbers in simple steps in this video.

 1 Concept Video on Subtraction 2 Introduction to Subtraction 3 What is Subtraction? 4 Subtraction on Number Line 5 Important Notes on Subtraction 6 Solved Examples on Subtraction 7 Tips and Tricks 8 Subtraction Calculator 9 Thinking out of the Box! 10 Practice Questions on Subtraction 11 Maths Olympiad Sample Papers 12 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 13 Download FREE Worksheets of Subtraction

We at Cuemath believe that Math is a life skill. Our Math Experts focus on the “Why” behind the “What.” Students can explore from a huge range of interactive worksheets, visuals, simulations, practice tests, and more to understand a concept in depth.

Book a FREE trial class today! and experience Cuemath’s LIVE Online Class with your child.

## Concept Video on Subtraction - Cuemath Way

Do you know how to subtract numbers?

If you don't, you can watch this video to learn how to subtract numbers the Cuemath way.

In this Cuemath video, you will learn how to do subtraction by building number combinations using Base Ten Blocks.

## Introduction to Subtraction

When you have a group of things and you subtract few things from it, the group becomes smaller.

For example, you bought $$9$$ cupcakes for your birthday party.

Your friends ate $$7$$ cupcakes.

Now you are left with $$2$$ cupcakes.

This can be written as a mathematical equation.

This can be read as "nine minus seven equals two".

There are 3 parts to a subtraction problem:

1. Minuend
2. Subtrahend
3. Difference.

## What is Subtraction?

### Subtraction: Definition

In mathematics, subtraction means to take away some things from a group.

In other words, subtraction is the process of removing things from a group.

We use minus sign (-) as the subtraction symbol when one number is subtracted from another number.

The terms such as "Minus", "Less", "Difference", "Decrease", "Take Away" and "Deduct" indicates that you need to subtract one number from another.

## Subtraction on Number Line

A number line is a visual aid for you to understand subtraction because it allows you to jump backward and forward on each number.

To understand how this works, let's explore subtraction using a number line.

Let's subtract $$4$$ from $$9$$

We'll start by marking the number $$9$$ on the number line.

When we subtract using a number line, we count by moving one number at a time toward the left.

Since we are subtracting $$4$$ from $$9$$, we will move 4 times to the left.

The number on which you land after 4 jumps is the answer. Thus,

$$9-4=5$$

Always remember that when you jump backward from any number, subtraction occurs.

Important Notes
1. Any subtraction problem can be transformed to an addition problem and vice-versa.
2. Subtracting 0 from any number gives the number itself as the difference.
3. When 1 is subtracted from any number, the difference equals the predecessor of the number.

Help your child score higher with Cuemath’s proprietary FREE Diagnostic Test. Get access to detailed reports, customised learning plans and a FREE counselling session. Attempt the test now.

## Subtraction: Examples

 Example 1

In an International cricket match, Sri Lanka scored $$236$$ runs and India scored $$126$$ runs.

How many more runs must India score to be equal to the number of runs scored by Sri Lanka?

Solution:

Runs scored by Sri Lanka = $$236$$

Runs scored by India = $$126$$

Let's first subtract by taking away the ones from ones, then tens from tens and then finally hundreds from hundreds.

Thus, we are left with 0 ones, 1 tens and 1 hundreds.

Mathematically, this can be written as:

 $$\therefore$$ India must score $$110$$ runs to be equal to Sri Lanka's runs
 Example 2

Sally's mother asked her to go to the market to buy some things. She gave her $$\text{Rs. }1265$$

Sally bought 1 kg of ghee for $$\text{Rs. }146$$, one pack of detergent for $$\text{Rs. }320$$, 1 litre of milk for $$\text{Rs. }120$$ and one pack of butter for $$\text{Rs. }95$$

The shopkeeper gave her back $$\text{Rs. }584$$

Did the shopkeeper give her the right amount?

Solution:

Let's find the total amount of money spent by Sally.

Money spent on ghee = $$\text{Rs. }146$$

Money spent on detergent = $$\text{Rs. }320$$

Money spent on milk = $$\text{Rs. }120$$

Money spent on butter = $$\text{Rs. }95$$

Total money spent by Sally:

\begin{align} &=\! \text{Rs. }146 \!+\! \text{Rs. }320 \!+\! \text{Rs. }120 \!+\! \text{Rs. }95\\ &=\! \text{Rs. }681\end{align}

Now, let's subtract 681 from 1265 to find the money given by the shopkeeper to Sally.

The problem can be written as:

Remember that we borrow when we don't have enough.

Take away 1 from 5 ones.

We are now left with 4 ones.

We cannot take away 8 tens from 6 tens.

Hence, we borrow 1 hundreds which is equal to 10 tens.

Now we have 16 tens out of which we take away 8 tens.

We are left with 8 tens.

Finally, we are left with 1 hundreds.

Similarly, we cannot take 6 hundreds from 1 hundreds.

Hence, we borrow 1 thousands which is equal to 10 hundreds.

Taking away 6 hundreds from 11 hundreds gives us 5 hundreds.

The shopkeeper must return $$\text{Rs. } 584$$ to Sally.

 $$\therefore$$ The shopkeeper gave Sally the right amount.

Finding a difference between two large numbers can be a challenge.

Use this strategy called removal to make it slighty easier to subtract two numbers.

Tips and Tricks
 1. Partition the number we want to remove (subtrahend). To do that, write the number in its expanded form. For example, we need to find 73 - 22 This will help you split a big chunk of a number into manageable pieces. We will remove each chunk one by one. Thus, the answer is 51

## Subtraction Calculator

We hope the above trick was helpful to you.

Try using the simulation below to subtract two-digit numbers.

Think Tank
 1. Edwin noted down the reading of the electricity meter at his house. The readings of last month were 256 and the readings of this month are 623. How much electricity did he use in one month?

Want to understand the “Why” behind the “What”? Explore Subtraction with our Math Experts in Cuemath’s LIVE, Personalised and Interactive Online Classes.

Make your kid a Math Expert, Book a FREE trial class today!

## Practice Questions

Here are few activities for you to practice.

IMO (International Maths Olympiad) is a competitive exam in Mathematics conducted annually for school students. It encourages children to develop their math solving skills from a competition perspective.

## 1. What is subtraction?

Subtraction is the process of finding the difference between two numbers or quantities.

Minus sign is the subtraction symbol we use while representing in the mathematical form.

## 2. What is the use of subtraction?

Subtraction is used when you take away or deduct something from a group of things.

There are different situations where we use subtraction like when you reduce something, find a part from a whole group, or find the difference between two quantities.

## 3. How do you do simple subtraction?

Follow the steps shown below to do simple subtraction.

1. Write the bigger number above the smaller number and underline the smaller number.
2. Start from the rightmost digit and compare the lower and upper digits.
3. If the lower digit is smaller than the upper digit, just take away the value of lower digit from the value of upper digit and write the answer beneath the underline in that column.
4. If the lower digit is greater than the upper digit, borrow 1 from the next column on the left. Now, you can take away the value of the lower digit from the value of the upper digit and write the answer beneath the underline in that column.
5. Repeat these steps until you run out of digits.

## 4. How do you borrow using subtraction?

Follow these steps to borrow using subtraction.

1. Cross out the number you are borrowing from and subtract 1 from it.
2. Write the number 10 above the column where you are working in and subtract the required digit from it.

Addition and Subtraction of two-digit numbers
Addition and Subtraction of two-digit numbers
Addition and subtraction of 3-digit numbers
Addition and subtraction of 3-digit numbers
Mental arithmetic
Mental arithmetic
Addition and Subtraction of 4-digit numbers
Mental Arithmetic
Mental Arithmetic
Addition and Subtraction of 4-digit numbers
Kg | Worksheet 5
Kg | Worksheet 6
Addition and Subtraction with numbers up to 20
Kg | Worksheet 3
Addition and Subtraction with numbers up to 20
Kg | Worksheet 4
A Visual Introduction to Subtraction
Kg | Worksheet 2
A Visual Introduction to Subtraction
Kg | Worksheet 1

More Important Topics
Numbers
Algebra
Geometry
Measurement
Money
Data
Trigonometry
Calculus