Decimal Subtraction: Solving 435.001 - 321.55 Step by Step

Question

Circle the correct answer for the following exercise:

435.001-321.55

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Solve
00:03 Place 0 in the appropriate place, place the decimal point in the appropriate place
00:06 Subtract accordingly, and place
00:10 When we need to subtract a number larger than what we have
00:13 Borrow from the next possible number
00:17 The next digit decreases by 1, and the previous digit increases by 10
00:20 We'll do this twice
00:24 Now subtract from the larger number
00:27 Place and continue to subtract and place accordingly
00:40 And this is the solution to the question

Step-by-Step Solution

In order to avoid confusion when solving the exercise, add the digit 0 to the number 321.550 as follows:

435.001321.550 435.001\\-321.550\\

Let's proceed to solve the exercise in order:

Subtract the thousands after the decimal point:

10=1 1-0=1

Subtract the hundreds after the decimal point:

05= 0-5=

Given that we cannot subtract, we will instead borrow a ten from the hundreds digit of the whole number (note that the tenths digit after the decimal point is also 0)

Now the tenths digit after the decimal point is 10, we will borrow from it a ten as shown below:

105=5 10-5=5

Let's subtract the tenths after the decimal point, remembering that we borrowed a ten, therefore:

1015=4 10-1-5=4

Finally, let's subtract the whole numbers before the decimal point accordingly.

Let's remember that we borrowed a ten from the hundreds digit, therefore:

511=3 5-1-1=3

32=1 3-2=1

43=1 4-3=1

And we obtain the following result:

435.001321.550113.451 435.001\\-321.550\\113.451

Answer

113.451