Subtract Decimals - Arithmetic Step by Step

Subtract 5.3 − 2.74 by lining up the decimal points, padding 5.3 to 5.30, then subtracting column by column with borrowing: hundredths 0 < 4, borrow; tenths 2 < 7, borrow; result is 2.56.

Example

subtract-decimals.math

5.3 - 2.74

step: line up: 5.3 - 2.74
step: pad 5.3 as 5.30
step: hundredths 0 < 4, borrow from tenths
step: hundredths: 10 - 4 = 6, write 6
step: tenths 2 < 7, borrow from ones
step: tenths: 12 - 7 = 5, write 5
step: ones: 4 - 2 = 2, write 2
step: 5.3 - 2.74 = 2.56

decimal-subtraction Line up the decimal points and pad with trailing zeros so both numbers have the same number of decimal places. Subtract column by column from right to left, borrowing across the decimal point exactly as you would for whole numbers.