Ulearngo

Subtraction Notation

Suppose there are seven bananas in a bowl. Elana uses three of them to make a smoothie. How many bananas are left in the bowl? To answer the question, we subtract three from seven. When we subtract, we take one number away from another to find the ...

By the end of this lesson and the next few, you should be able to:

  • Use subtraction notation
  • Model subtraction of whole numbers
  • Subtract whole numbers
  • Translate word phrases to math notation
  • Subtract whole numbers in applications

subtraction

Use Subtraction Notation

Suppose there are seven bananas in a bowl. Elana uses three of them to make a smoothie. How many bananas are left in the bowl? To answer the question, we subtract three from seven. When we subtract, we take one number away from another to find the difference. The notation we use to subtract \(3\) from \(7\) is

\(7-3\)

We read \(7-3\) as seven minus three and the result is the difference of seven and three.

Subtraction Notation

To describe subtraction, we can use symbols and words.

Operation Notation Expression Read as Result
Subtraction \(-\) \(7-3\) seven minus three the difference of \(7\) and \(3\)

Example

Translate from math notation to words: (a) \(8-1\) (b) \(26-14\).

Solution

  1. We read this as eight minus one. The result is the difference of eight and one.
  2. We read this as twenty-six minus fourteen. The result is the difference of twenty-six and fourteen.

Extra:

Translate from math notation to words:

  1. \(12-4\)
  2. \(29-11\)

Solution

  1. twelve minus four; the difference of twelve and four
  2. twenty-nine minus eleven; the difference of twenty-nine and eleven

Extra:

Translate from math notation to words:

  1. \(11-2\)
  2. \(29-12\)

Solution

  1. eleven minus two; the difference of eleven and two
  2. twenty-nine minus twelve; the difference of twenty-nine and twelve

Optional Video: Model Subtraction of Two Digit Whole Numbers Using Base Ten Blocks

This video below by Mathispower4u explains subtraction of two digit whole numbers by using base ten blocks.

This lesson is part of:

Introducing Numbers

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