SAINT PAUL’S SCHOOL, RAJKOT

Chapter 4: SUBTRACTION
Subject: Mathematics

Std :III Div:____ Name:_____________________ Roll No.:_____ Date:_________

What is Arithmetic?

Arithmetic is the branch of mathematics that deals with the study of

numbers using various operations on them. Basic operations of math are
addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

These operations are denoted by the given symbols.

Addition:

The addition is the process of taking two or more numbers and adding them
together. In other words, it is the total sum of all the numbers.

Let’s recap:
The answer obtained by adding two numbers is called .

Both the numbers in addition are called .

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 Subtraction operation
 Minus represents the arithmetic operation of subtraction
between two numbers. For example,

Minus sign also means taking something away from a given

value.
 For example, Darby has 6 gingerbread with her, and
she gives 3 gingerbread to Kelly.
 So, 6 minus 3 is equal to 3. Darby is left with 3
gingerbread.

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 A subtraction sentence consists of 3 numbers:
Minuend, Subtrahend and difference

Borrowing:
The action of borrowing something.

Here, we are going to borrow a number from the

bigger number, so that we can subtract smaller
number from bigger number.

Minuend :
The number in a subtraction sentence from which
we subtract another number is called a minuend.

As shown above, in vertical method of subtraction or column

method, the minuend is the number on the top.

Fun Fact:
The word minuend originated in the late 17thcentury from the Latin
word minuendus, which means something that we decrease.

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 Subtrahend -

The number which we subtract from another number in a

subtraction sentence is called a subtrahend.

In the vertical method of subtraction or column method, the

subtrahend is the number above the difference.

Fun Fact:
The word subtrahend originated in the late 17thcentury from the Latin word
subtrahendus, which means to be taken away.

Difference
The result when one number is deducted from
another. The answer obtained after subtracting
two numbers is called difference.

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3-digit subtraction without borrowing:
Let’s subtract 897 -123
Step -1 Write the numbers in the columns. (Always write bigger number
first)

H T O
8 9 7
1 2 3

Step -2 Subtract digits in the ones column.

H T O
8 9 7
1 2 3
4

Step-3 Subtract digits in the tens column.

H T O
8 9 7
1 2 3
7 4

Step -4 Subtract the digits in the hundreds column.

H T O

8 9 7

1 2 3

7 7 4

Hence, 897 - 123 = 774

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3 digit subtraction without re - grouping

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Properties of Subtraction:

 When a number is subtracted from itself the difference obtained is zero.

For example: 43 – 43 = 0 and 172 – 172 = 0
 When zero is subtracted from any number the difference obtained is the
number itself.
For example: 29 – 0 = 29 and 834 – 0 = 834
 When we subtract 1 from any number, we get
Predecessor of the given number.
For example: 73 – 1 = 72 and 138 – 1 = 137

Use of Subtraction:

To find out what is left after taking away.

To compare numbers and find out how many more or less is one than the
other.
To find out how many do not belong to the group.
There are two more cases when we need to use subtraction
We use subtraction when we know the original figure and what is left over
but need to find out what was taken away.
We use subtraction when we have to find out how many more have to be
added to get a given number.

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 3-digit subtraction with re-grouping (borrowing)

Let’s subtract 375 from 538 (always write bigger number first)
Step -1 Write the numbers in the columns.
H T O
5 3 8
3 7 5

Step -2 Subtract digits in the ones column.

H T O

5 3 8
3 7 5
3
Step-3 Subtract digits in the tens column. Borrow tens from the hundred’s
place value.

H T O
4
5 13 8
3 7 5
6 3

Step -4 Subtract the digits in the hundred's column.

H T O
4
5 13 8
3 7 5
1 6 3

Hence,538 -375 = 163

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 How to do check back?
(To check whether your answer is correct or not)
(rules are same for 3 - digit and 4-digit numbers)
In the previous sum on page 7, we saw after subtracting,
we got 163 as the difference.

First step - Write down the difference.

H T O H T O
4
5 13 8 1 6 3
3 7 5
1 6 3
Second step - Write down the subtrahend below difference
number.

H T O H T O
4
5 13 8 1 6 3
3 7 5 3 7 5
1 6 3

Third step - Add both the numbers. If it is same as minuend,

its correct.

H T O H T O
4 1
5 13 8 1 6 3
3 7 5 3 7 5
1 6 3 5 3 8

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Subtract the following :

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 Exercise 4.1
Q-1 Subtract the following and do check back in
your Maths notebook:

a.669-588 b.836-721 c.624-385 d.753-154

e.852-513 f.804-408 g.511-128 h.985-536

i.845-456 j.666-538 k.721-182 l.707-280

Q-2 Fill in the blanks without subtracting:

a) 81 – 81 = _____
b) _____ − 0 = 375
c) 877 – 0 = _____
d) 191 – 1 = _____
e) 790 − _____ = 0
f) ____ – 1 = 256

Q-3 Solve the following word problems in your Maths notebook:

A. Ryan wrote a total of 614 songs in his career. Of these

songs, 94 were popular. How many songs did Ryan write
that were not popular?

B. Polly had ₹766 invested in the stock market until she

lost ₹218 on those investments. How much money does
she have in the stock market now?
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C. Lucy just started working at a French restaurant. Last
week, she polished a combined total of 561 small and
large glasses. If Lucy polished 97 small glasses, how
many large glasses did she polish?

D. A chef has served a total of 651 guests. Of those

guests, 77 were adults. How many children has the chef
served?

E. An orchard has sold a combined total of 400

fresh and frozen fruits this season. If they have
sold 289 of frozen fruits, how much number of
fresh fruits have been sold?
F. Sweetie Baking Company had 988 eggs. Then
employees used 88 eggs to make chocolate chip biscuits.
How many eggs are left?

G. What must be added to 326 to get 974?

H. The sum of two numbers is 888. If one of them is

367, find the other number.

I. Grade III planted a total of 866 Tulips. Out of which 78

were sunflower. How many Tulips were planted?

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 4-digit Subtraction without borrowing:

 Let’s subtract 4,899 -3,230:

Step -1 Write the numbers in the columns.

TH H T O

4 8 9 9
3 2 3 0

Step -2 Subtract digits in the ones column.

TH H T O

4 8 9 9
3 2 3 0
9

Step-3 Subtract digits in the tens column.

TH H T O

4 8 9 9
3 2 3 0
6 9

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Step - 4 Add the digits in the hundreds column.

TH H T O

4 8 9 9
3 2 3 0
6 6 9

Step - 5 Add the digits in the Thousands column.

TH H T O

4 8 9 9
3 2 3 0
1 6 6 9

Hence,4,899 - 3,230 = 1,669

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Subtract without re- grouping :

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 4 - digits with re- grouping (borrowing)
 Let’s subtract 1,256 from 7,520 (always right bigger number first)
Step -1 Write the numbers in the columns.

TH H T O
7 5 2 0
1 2 5 6

Step -2 Subtract digits in the ones column. When minuend is smaller than
the subtrahend we need to re-group (borrow).

TH H T O
1 10
7 5 2 0
1 2 5 6
4

Step-3 Subtract digits in the tens column. When minuend is smaller than
the subtrahend we need to re-group (borrow). Now borrow from
hundreds.

H T O
4 11
7 5 2 o
1 2 5 6
6 3

Step -4 Subtract the digits in Step -5 Subtract the digits in

the hundred's column. the thousand's column.

TH H T O TH H T O
4 11 4 11
7 5 2 o
7 5 2 0
1 2 5 6
1 2 5 6
2 6 3
6 2 6 3

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Hence - 7,520 - 1,256 =6,263
 4 - DIGIT Subtraction with re - grouping (borrowing)

TH H T O TH H T O

6 8 9 0 5 0 0 7
1 6 3 5 1 9 7 4

TH H T O TH H T O

2 0 0 0 9 6 9 9

1 3 2 0 4 9 1 0

TH H T O TH H T O

7 8 0 0 5 0 0 0
1 6 3 0 3 0 1 1

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 Exercise 4.2
Q-1 Subtract and do check back the following in your
Maths notebook:

a.6,609-5,881 b.8,360-7,213 c.2,624-3,850

d.3,753-2,154 e.9,852-7,513 f.4,804-3,408

g. Subtract 1,128from6,200 h. Subtract 3,690 from9,870

i. Subtract 7,832from8,569 j. Subtract 4,500 from5,390

k. Subtract 8,712from9,000 l. Subtract 3,760 from7,290

Q-2 Solve the following word problems in your Maths notebook:

A. An education company has a total of 5,717 employees. If

there are 396 part-time employees, how many full-time
employees work for the company?

B. While playing a video game, Adam scored 3,206 points. He

and his cousin together have
a total of 7,397 points. How
many points does Adam's
cousin have?

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 C. A video game company sold a total of 2,326 white
and black game consoles. They sold 708 black
consoles. How many white consoles did they sell?

D. There were 826 people at the stadium on Friday. On Saturday, there were
697 people. How many more people were there at the stadium on Friday?

E. A treasure hunter discovered a buried treasure chest filled

with a total of 4,188 gems. 1,219 of the gems were diamonds,
and the rest were rubies. How many of the gems were rubies?

F. A farm supplies 365 eggs to market A and 228 eggs to market

B every week. Which market gets more eggs and by how much?

G. A Farmer has 1,579 lambs either black or white. There are 130
white ones. How many of lambs are black?

H. Michelle's Biscuits is offering a special discount on

chocolate chip biscuits. They just received an order from a
hotel for 3,694 boxes. They have 8,000 boxes on hand.
How many boxes will be left after filling the order?

I. India got freedom in 1947. How many years have been

passed till 2020 since then?

J. Find the difference between the largest 3-digit number and

largest 2-digit number.
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Mixed story sums
Q-1 Solve the following word problems in your Maths notebook:

A. In a mall, there were 923 people on Monday and 1480 people on Tuesday.
How many people gathered in the mall in these two days?

B. There were 196 passengers in a train. 136

got down at a station. How many passengers are
still in the train?

C. There were 286 red and green balls in a box.

The number of red balls was 164. How many
balls were green in colour?

D. How much is 589 greater than 408?

E. A fisherman caught 101, 795 and 84 fishes on three

successive days. Find the total number of fishes caught by
him on these days.

F. At a birthday party there are 175 children, 60 women and 55 men. How many
people are there in the party?

G. In a village there are 150 neem trees and 120 mango trees. 59 trees are cut
down to make a road. How many trees are there in the village now?

H. There are 600 girls and 750 boys in a

school. If 300 students are absent on a day,
how many are present?
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