Subtraction within 10

What is subtraction?

Subtraction is taking away one number from another.

When you subtract it gives you the difference between two numbers.

Here are 7 blocks.

If you take away three blocks, how many are left?

There would be 4 blocks left.

7 blocks take away 3 blocks leaves 4 blocks.

You can write this as a number sentence. The sign for subtraction is '–'.

7 – 3 = 4

There are different words you can use for subtraction.

You could say '7 take away 3 is 4', '7 subtract 3 equals 4' or '7 minus 3 equals 4'.

You could also say 'the difference between 7 and 4 is 3'.

Quiz: Subtraction within 10

Try this subtraction quiz. Then work through the page and see if you can beat your score.

Taking away

Here are 8 counters.

If you take away 5 counters, how many counters are left?

8 take away 5 is 3.

You could write this as a number sentence like this.

8 – 5 = 3

Finding the difference

Isma has 7 apples and Harry has 4 apples.

How many more apples has Isma got than Harry?

To work out how many more apples Isma has than Harry, you need to find the difference between 7 and 4.

A bar model can help you compare how many apples each child has.

The difference between 7 and 4 is 3.

7 – 4 = 3

So, Isma has got 3 more apples than Harry.

Remember, you can use subtraction to find the difference between two numbers.

Counting on to find the difference

You can also count on to find the difference between two numbers.

For example, what is the difference between 10 and 7?

Let's use a number line to help.

Start with the smaller number and then count on.

How many jumps did it take to reach 10?

It took 3 jumps. So you know the difference between 10 and 7 is 3.

10 – 7 = 3

Example 2

There are many subtraction facts with the same answer.

Look at these. They all have the answer 3.