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Subtraction
Take some away from a pile. The −. The flip side of addition.
Take some away
Start with a pile, take some away, see what's left.
Start with
10
Take away
3
What's left
10 − 3 = 7
Three ways to think about −
- Take away. 10 − 4 = 6 (you started with 10, gave away 4).
- Counting back. 10 − 4 = count down four steps from 10.
- How far apart. 10 − 4 is the gap between 10 and 4 on the number line.
Order matters
10 − 4 ≠ 4 − 10. Subtraction is not commutative — flipping it gives a negative.