Subtraction is an operation that is used to determine the difference between two numbers. This means the subtraction operation tells us how much a quantity is smaller than another quantity. For example, subtracting 8 from 11, the result is 3.
Example, if the height of John increases from 160 cm to 172 cm, then what is the increase in height? The height increase in height is calculated by subtracting two heights: 172 - 160 = 12. Thus, we say that the height is increased by 12 cm.
Subtraction in Real Life
These are some of the real-life applications of subtraction:
- Measuring Distances: Subtracting the starting point from the end point gives the length of a space.
- Timekeeping: Subtracting the start time from the end time calculates the duration.
- Inventory Management: Subtracting sold items from total stock helps track inventory levels.
- Budgeting: Subtracting expenses from income determines savings or remaining money.
- Temperature Change: Subtracting the initial temperature from the final one shows the temperature difference.
Parts
There are various parts of subtraction that include
- Minuend: The number from which another number is subtracted. Example: In 8 − 7, 8 is the minuend.
- Subtraction Symbol: The minus sign (-) used to represent subtraction. Example: In 8 − 7, the minus sign is the subtraction symbol.
- Subtrahend: The number that is subtracted from the minuend. Example: In 8−7, 7 is the subtrahend.
- Difference: The result of the subtraction operation. Example: In 8 − 7 = 1, the difference is 1.
Methods
We have various methods for finding the sum of two numbers or solving addition.
1. Subtraction on Fingers
Using fingers one can easily calculated the subtraction of two numbers. To find the difference of two number we first count first number in our fingers and then close the fingers equal to number that we have to subtract. The fingers remaining is the required result of the subtraction problem.
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2. Subtraction on the Number Line
Finding the result of subtraction operation is very easy using the number line. If we have to find the difference of two numbers using number lines then we should the following steps.
Let us suppose we have to find the difference of 7 and 3
Step 1: Mark 7 on a number line.
Step 2: Now to find the difference of 7 and 3 we count 3 numbers backwards (in left direction)
Step 3: Mark the final position(here 3). Thus, we get the difference of 7 and 3 to be 4.
These steps can be explained using the following illustration.
3. Subtraction By Regrouping
Subtracting by regrouping, or vertical subtraction, is used for subtracting two- or three-digit numbers arranged vertically.
In this method, numbers are written in Hundreds, Tens, and Ones format, and subtraction is performed column by column. If a digit in the upper number is smaller than the one below, a carry is borrowed from the next column to complete the subtraction.
Example, if we have to find the difference of 89 and 74 then the same is calculated as,
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