Subtraction

A subtraction exercise is an exercise where we take away something from a certain amount.
When we see the sign $-$ we are shown that it's a subtraction exercise where we need to subtract something from a certain amount.

Let's look at an example –

Diana has $7$ orange balls

Orange dots arranged in a 3x3 grid representing subtraction in math concepts for visual learning.

Eric took $3$ balls from Diana.

Three orange dots in a horizontal line used to visually represent subtraction in math education.

How many balls does Diana have left?

Let's look again at Diana's balls
We know that Eric took $3$ balls from her, so let's put aside the three balls that Eric took and count how many Diana has left.

Math subtraction example using orange dots above the names Diana and Eric to visually represent quantities. Ideal for educational content.

Diana has $4$ balls left, therefore we obtain the following result:
$7-3=4$

Detailed explanation

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Test yourself on subtraction!

If we have 67 blocks in total, how many blocks will remain if we remove 5 tens and 4 ones?

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Subtraction

Now let's move on to a slightly harder exercise:
Solve the following exercise $13-3=$

Let's use balls-
We have a group of $13$ balls

Visual representation of subtraction with 13 orange dots arranged in three rows for educational purposes in mathematics

From it we will subtract $3$ balls and put them aside.
We should be left with:

Subtraction example with 10 orange dots arranged in two rows, illustrating a mathematical concept for educational purposes.

$10$ balls.

Excellent!
Now we'll proceed to the subtraction operation without needing to draw circles.

When I have any number, for example $17$ , and want to subtract $4$ from it
Like in the exercise $17-4=$
Let's imagine we already have $17$ and we simply want to subtract $4$
Let's count:

First we subtract $1$ and obtain $16$

Illustration of a black hand silhouette with the number 16 beside it, used for teaching subtraction in educational contexts.

Let's continue to subtract $1$ and we'll obtain $15$

"Illustration of a black hand silhouette labeled with numbers 15 and 16, used for subtraction practice in educational contexts."

Let's continue to subtract $1$ and we obtain $14$

"Illustration of a black hand silhouette labeled with numbers 14, 15, and 16, designed to teach subtraction concepts visually in math education."

Let's continue to subtract $1$ and we'll obtain $13$

Hand subtraction method illustrating counting down from 16 to 13 using numbered fingers for visual math learning

The answer
$17-4=13$

Let's do another exercise –
What is the solution to
$18-5=$
Let's imagine we have $18$ and we're simply subtracting $5$ from it
Subtract $1$ – we obtain $17$
First subtract $1$ and we obtain $16$
Continue subtracting $1$ and we obtain $15$
Continue subtracting $1$ and we obtain $13$

We subtracted $5$ and obtained $13$ !
Therefore:

$18-5=13$

Now we'll move on to slightly more advanced exercises!

Imagine that Melanie has $65$ chocolate cubes

Visual representation of subtraction using grouped blocks and individual units for teaching basic arithmetic concepts.

Harry took $32$ chocolate cubes from Melanie.

Illustration of subtraction using grouped and individual units, showcasing reduced quantities for basic math education.

How can we determine how many chocolate cubes Melanie has left without drawing or subtracting 1 each time?
Observe the following method -

The numbers we have contain tens and ones.
Let's see how many tens Melanie has – $60$
And how many tens Harry took from her – $30$
Subtract and obtain the following $60-30=30$
Let's proceed to the ones – Melanie had
and $5$ ones and Harry took $2$ from her.
We'll subtract and obtain the following result $5-2=3$

Now we'll add the sum of tens with the sum of ones that Melanie has left:
$30+3=33$
This is the result for the exercise $65-32=33$

Let's learn another way:
Vertical subtraction!
When we are presented with a subtraction problem like this:
$37-6=$

Write it in vertical form in the following way - ones under ones and tens under tens if they are present.

Vertical subtraction problem illustrating 37 minus 6 equals 31, used as an educational resource for teaching subtraction concepts in math.

Let's subtract ones from ones –
$7-6=1$
and tens from tens
$3-0=3$

We obtain the following $37-6$
is $31$ .

Let's solve another exercise:
$46-24=$

Let's write vertically, placing all ones under ones and tens under tens, as seen below:

Vertical subtraction example solving 46 minus 24 equals 22, demonstrating basic arithmetic for educational purposes.

Calculate $6-4$
We obtain $2$
Determine $4-2$
We obtain $2$

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Test your knowledge

Question 1

If we have 46 blocks in total and we remove 2 tens, how many blocks will remain?

Question 2

Subtract three units from the number 73. What is the result?

Question 3

What number will we get if we subtract 2 tens and 5 units from the number 36.

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