subtraction

Also known as subtract, decrease, take away, deduct, minus

thumb|alt=Removing two peaches from a group of five peaches leaves three peaches remaining.|" = 3" (verbally, "five minus two equals three")

AI overview

Subtraction is a mathematical operation where you take away a certain amount from a larger amount to find what remains—for example, if you remove two peaches from five peaches, you're left with three. It's a fundamental skill that helps us solve everyday problems involving quantities, like figuring out change after a purchase or determining how much of something is left.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Image: Subtraction01.svg

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Stack Exchange tag: stackoverflow.com/tags/subtraction
Commons category: Subtraction

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~18 min read

Article

31 sections

Contents

Notation and terminology
Of integers and real numbers
Integers
Natural numbers
Real numbers
Properties
Anti-commutativity
Non-associativity
Predecessor
Units of measurement
Percentages
In computing
The teaching of subtraction in schools
In America
In Europe
Comparing the two main methods
Subtraction by hand
Austrian method
Subtraction from left to right
American method
Trade first
Partial differences
Nonvertical methods
Counting up
Breaking up the subtraction
Same change
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links

thumb|alt=Removing two peaches from a group of five peaches leaves three peaches remaining.|" = 3" (verbally, "five minus two equals three")

thumb|Placard outside a shop in Bordeaux advertising subtraction of 20% from the price of the second perfume purchased. Subtraction (which is signified by the minus sign, −) is one of the four arithmetic operations along with addition, multiplication and division. Subtraction is an operation that represents removal of objects from a collection. For example, in the adjacent picture, there are peaches—meaning 5 peaches with 2 taken away, resulting in a total of 3 peaches. Therefore, the difference of 5 and 2 is 3; that is, . While primarily associated with natural numbers in arithmetic, subtraction can also represent removing or decreasing physical and abstract quantities using different kinds of objects including negative numbers, fractions, irrational numbers, vectors, decimals, functions, and matrices.