Subtraction Definition
Subtraction is the method of finding the difference between two numbers. Subtraction is represented by the (-) symbol. Subtraction is the reverse of Addition. Subtraction is useful when you need to calculate how much you will get back after you gave an amount larger than your bill to the shopkeeper, how much a number is larger or smaller than a given number and how much is your monthly saving after summing up all your expenditures. There are two numbers involved in subtraction one is called Minuend, the other one is called Subtrahend and the result obtained on subtraction is called the Difference.
What is Minuend?
The number from which a number is subtracted is called the Minuend. For Example in 7 – 2 = 5, 7 is the Minuend.
What is Subtrahend?
The number which is subtracted is called the Subtrahend. For Example in 7 – 2 = 5, 2 is the subtrahend. If the subtrahend is greater than minuend then the result will be the difference accompanied by a minus sign. For example, in 2 – 7 = -5, here, the numbers are the same but interchanged i.e. subtrahend is 7 and minuend is 2. Here, Subtrahend (7) is greater than minuend(2), hence, the result is also the same i.e. 5 accompanied with a minus sign. Hence, the final result is -5.
What is Difference?
The number obtained by subtraction is called the Difference. For Example in 7 – 2 = 5, the difference is 5. The difference between the two numbers tells us about the gap between two numbers while counting. For example, the difference between 7 and 2 is 5 which tells us that there is a gap of 5 between 7 and 2. The difference between the two numbers also tells how larger or smaller are the two numbers with respect to each other. For Example, in 7 – 2 = 5, we can say that 7 is 5 larger than 2 or 2 is 5 smaller than 7.
Let’s learn some properties of Subtraction
Properties of Subtraction
- Subtracting 1 from any number gives its Predecessor. A Predecessor is a number that occupies place just before a given number in the counting. For Example, 4 – 1 = 3, where 3 is the predecessor of 4.
- Subtracting 0 from any number results in the number itself. For Example, 5 – 0 = 5.
- Subtracting the number from itself results in zero. For Example, 5 – 5 = 0
Arithmetic Operations
Arithmetic Operations are the basic mathematical operations used for calculation. Arithmetic Operations are the backbone of Mathematics. There are four basic arithmetic operations, namely, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division. These four basic arithmetic operations are very helpful in solving daily life calculations such as sharing biscuits among your friend and sibling, counting the total bill you have to pay at a shop, complex calculations such as problems of time and work, data interpretations, etc.
In this article, we will learn about basic arithmetic operations in detail.
Table of Content
- What is Arithmetic Operation?
- Basic Arithmetic Operations
- Addition Definition
- Subtraction Definition
- Multiplication Definition
- Division Definition