Subtraction — Taking Away Numbers

Subtraction ➖

Subtraction means taking away a number from another to find what is left.

5 apples − 2 apples = 3 apples 🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎 → take away 🍎🍎 → 🍎🍎🍎

The − sign means subtract, minus, or take away.

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🔢 Parts of a Subtraction Sum

  8  −  3  =  5
  ↑     ↑     ↑
Start  Take  What's
number away  left

The answer to a subtraction sum is called the Difference.

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🌟 Subtraction with Objects

Crossing Out Method

7 − 4 = ?

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Cross out 4: ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ 🌟 🌟 🌟
Answer = 3

Number Line Method

9 − 3 = ?

0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10
                  ←←←
                  Jump back 3 from 9
                  Land on 6!

Answer = 6

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📊 Subtraction Facts (up to 20)

Subtracting from 10

Sum	Answer
10 − 1	9
10 − 2	8
10 − 3	7
10 − 4	6
10 − 5	5
10 − 6	4
10 − 7	3
10 − 8	2
10 − 9	1
10 − 10	0

Subtracting from 20

Sum	Answer
20 − 5	15
20 − 8	12
20 − 10	10
20 − 12	8
20 − 15	5
20 − 20	0

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🔗 Addition and Subtraction are Related!

If you know an addition fact, you know a subtraction fact too!

Addition	Subtraction
3 + 4 = 7	7 − 4 = 3 and 7 − 3 = 4
5 + 6 = 11	11 − 6 = 5 and 11 − 5 = 6
8 + 7 = 15	15 − 7 = 8 and 15 − 8 = 7

💡 Tip: Use addition to check your subtraction!
If 9 − 4 = 5, then 5 + 4 should = 9. ✅

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🔢 Subtracting Bigger Numbers

Column Subtraction

  4 7
- 2 3
-----
  2 4

Subtract the ones first (7−3=4), then the tens (4−2=2). Answer = 24

More Examples

Sum	Working	Answer
35 − 12	5−2=3 ones, 3−1=2 tens	23
48 − 25	8−5=3 ones, 4−2=2 tens	23
67 − 34	7−4=3 ones, 6−3=3 tens	33
99 − 45	9−5=4 ones, 9−4=5 tens	54

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📖 Word Problems

Read carefully and solve:

1. Aditi has 10 chocolates. She eats 4. How many are left?
   → 10 − 4 = 6 chocolates 🍫

2. There are 15 birds on a tree. 7 fly away. How many birds are left?
   → 15 − 7 = 8 birds 🐦

3. A bag has 20 marbles. Rahul takes out 9. How many marbles are left?
   → 20 − 9 = 11 marbles 🔮

4. There are 25 students in a class. 8 are absent. How many students are present?
   → 25 − 8 = 17 students 👦

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🌟 Important Rules of Subtraction

1. Subtracting zero gives the same number: 8 − 0 = 8
2. Subtracting a number from itself gives zero: 7 − 7 = 0
3. We cannot subtract a bigger number from a smaller number (in basic maths): 3 − 7 = ❌ (not possible here)

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✅ Practice Sums

Solve these:

1. 9 − 4 = ___ (5)
2. 12 − 5 = ___ (7)
3. 18 − 9 = ___ (9)
4. 25 − 13 = ___ (12)
5. 30 − 15 = ___ (15)
6. 7 − 0 = ___ (7)
7. 14 − 14 = ___ (0)
8. 50 − 20 = ___ (30)

Fill in the missing number:

1. 10 − ___ = 6 (4)
2. ___ − 5 = 8 (13)
3. 15 − ___ = 9 (6)
4. ___ − 7 = 10 (17)

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Subtraction is just addition in reverse! Master both and you’ll be a maths champion! 🏆