Subtraction facts
Use subtraction to find what remains or the distance between two numbers. For 13 − 8, think of the missing part in 8 + ? = 13. In written subtraction, exchanging one ten for ten ones changes the representation without changing the starting quantity.
Choose a skill to practice
Choose a link below to open the game, then press Start to begin the selected skill. Your practice round uses the same feedback and local progress storage as the main game.
- Subtraction within 10
- Subtraction with borrowing
- 2-digit − 1-digit
- Two-digit column subtraction
- Column subtraction with borrowing
- Subtracting from hundreds
- Three-digit subtraction
- Four-digit subtraction
Find the difference in two ways
There are 13 seats and 8 are occupied. You can count back eight from thirteen, or count up from eight to thirteen: two to reach ten and three more to reach thirteen. Both methods give five empty seats. Try the missing-addend check, 8 + 5 = 13. A learner who already knows the addition relationship may find this more efficient than counting backward one number at a time.
Common errors: reversing digits
For 42 − 17, subtracting the smaller digit from the larger in each column gives an incorrect answer. The ones column means 2 − 7, so exchange a ten: 42 becomes 3 tens and 12 ones. Then 12 − 7 = 5 and 3 − 1 = 2, giving 25. Check with 25 + 17 = 42. For a number containing a zero, track every exchange rather than crossing out digits without explaining their values.
Choose the right next step
Grade 1 moves from subtraction within ten to crossing ten. Grade 2 introduces written borrowing, and Grade 3 includes larger numbers and borrowing across zero. A learner who can explain the exchange but makes fact errors should revisit small subtraction facts. A learner with quick recall but incorrect columns needs place-value practice. Decimal subtraction later extends the same method by aligning decimal points.