Subtract 356 from 542: Column Method Practice Problem

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Solve

00:03 Each time we consider a shortage of 2 digits, and then we place

00:06 2 is less than 6

00:10 Therefore we subtract 1 from the tens, and add this amount to the ones

00:14 So now instead of 2 we will have 12

00:18 We subtract the ones from the ones plus the ten

00:21 We place in the ones

00:27 3 is less than 5

00:31 Therefore we subtract 1 from the hundreds, and add this amount to the tens

00:37 So now instead of 3 we will have 13

00:41 We subtract the tens from the tens plus the ten

00:45 We place in the tens

00:49 We subtract hundreds from hundreds, and place in hundreds

00:53 And this is the solution to the question

Step-by-Step Solution

To begin solving the subtraction $542 - 356$ , we will break it down step by step:

Step 1: Subtract the units digit
- The units digits are 2 (from 542) and 6 (from 356).
- Since 2 is smaller than 6, we need to borrow 1 ten from the tens place, changing it from 40 to 30 (of the minuend).
- The borrowed 10 changes the 2 to 12: $12 - 6 = 6$ .
Step 2: Subtract the tens digit
- Now the tens digit is 3 (originally 4 but reduced to 3 due to borrowing) minus 5.
- We need to borrow 1 hundred (from 5 hundreds), which changes it to 4 hundreds, making the tens digit 13.
- Calculate $13 - 5 = 8$ .
Step 3: Subtract the hundreds digit
- The hundreds digit is 4 (from the previous borrow) minus 3 from the subtrahend.
- Calculate $4 - 3 = 1$ .

Thus, combining all these, we obtain the result of the subtraction: $186$ .

Therefore, the solution to the problem is $186$ .