Math Drills

Subtraction of Decimals

C-2

Calculation

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What this worksheet covers

Grade: Grade 3 (Elementary School)
Topic: Decimals
Worksheet: Subtraction of Decimals

The vertical layout is the center of the lesson. No Borrowing (Column Calculation) confirms subtracting column by column, and 1 Borrow (Column Calculation) breaks ten out of the column above and passes it to the tenths. Items with a whole number on one side are mixed in, and the same range is traced in the horizontal working and in Fill in the Blank.

With a whole number on one side, the decimal place looks empty. Rather than reading it as 0, the tenths digit of the number being taken away gets brought straight down into the answer. Where the number being subtracted from is whole, the tenths of the answer is what is left after taking that digit from ten: 5 - 2.3 gives 10 - 3, which is 7, and a 3 left standing means it was brought down.

Only the direction of the passing changes, and lining up the places matches Addition of Decimals. Solving from a given expression ends here, and Decimal Word Problems builds the expression from the wording of a scene.