Subtracting Decimals

Subtracting decimals is just like subtracting other whole numbers except we have to line up the numbers and the decimal points.

For example:

Here’s another example subtracting 5.7 from 5.81

In the above example, we lined up the numbers and the decimal points. Next, we added a zero to 5.7 to make it 5.70 then we subtracted like normal…easy or what?

Here’s another example, subtract 7.615 from 23.8

Notice we added zeros as place holders to the right and to the left of the numbers above. For 23.8 we added two zeros so the decimal points would line up with the bottom number. The second number, 7.615 has a zero added to the tens column to make it line up with the 2 in the first addend 23.8 so we ended up subtracting 23.800 to 07.615…Are you getting the hang of this? Let’s see!

Subtract the following decimals:

Page 4 of Decimals