Solve Vertical Subtraction: 55 minus 8 in Column Format

To solve this problem, we'll perform the subtraction $55 - 8$ using a step-by-step process:

• Step 1: Identify place values for subtraction. The number 55 has a 'tens' place (5) and a 'ones' place (5).
• Step 2: Subtract the ones place. We need to subtract 8 from 5. Since 5 is smaller than 8, borrowing is necessary.
• Step 3: Borrow from the tens place. Change 55 to 4 tens and 15 ones:
• The tens digit is reduced by 1 (from 5 to 4).
• Add 10 to the ones digit, changing it from 5 to 15.
• Step 4: Subtract the ones place now: $15 - 8 = 7$.
• Step 5: Subtract the tens place: Now we have 4 in the tens place (after borrowing), so $4 - 0 = 4$.

Therefore, the result of $55 - 8$ is $\mathbf{47}$.

The correct answer is 47, corresponding to choice 3.