Subtraction: Taking Away

To understand subtraction, think of it as taking away some items from a group.
For example, if you have 5 cookies and you eat 2 of them, you can find out how many cookies you have left by taking away:

You started with 5 cookies. After eating 2, those 2 cookies are gone, and you are left with 3 cookies!

Here is another example. You have 4 balloons. A gust of wind takes away 1 balloon. How many balloons do you have now?

You started with 4 balloons, and you lost 1. Count what remains:
1, 2, 3!
So, you have 3 balloons left.

The Minus Sign

The minus sign looks like a short, horizontal line:

It means you are taking something away.
So instead of writing “5 take away 2”, you can write:

5 – 2

and it means the same thing!

Seeing Subtraction In Action

You can use your fingers to help with subtraction, too! For example, to find 4 – 2:

•  Hold up 4 fingers
• Now put down 2 fingers
• Count the fingers you are still holding up: 1, 2!

This means 4 – 2 is 2!