Solve Three-Digit Subtraction: 478 minus 289 in Vertical Format

$\begin{aligned} &478 \\ -& \\ &289\\ &\underline{\phantom{776}} & \\ \end{aligned}$

To solve the problem of subtracting 289 from 478, we perform the following steps:

• Setup: Write the numbers in column form, aligning by place value:
  $\begin{aligned} & 478 \\ - & 289 \\ \end{aligned}$
• Subtract Ones: Start from the rightmost column (ones place):
  $8 - 9$. Since 8 is smaller than 9, borrow 1 from the tens place (7), making it 6 and converting the 8 to 18.
  Now, perform $18 - 9 = 9$.
• Subtract Tens: Move to the tens column, now having $6$ from borrowing from the previous step:
  $6 - 8$. Again, since 6 is less than 8, borrow 1 from the hundreds place (4), making it 3 and converting the 6 to 16.
  Now, perform $16 - 8 = 8$.
• Subtract Hundreds: Finally, subtract the hundreds column:
  $3 - 2 = 1$.
• Assemble the result: The completed subtraction gives us $189$.

Therefore, the solution to the problem is $189$, which corresponds to choice 2.