268 Essential Skills for Health Careers Success
number on top is smaller than the number on the bottom, you will have to
“borrow” from the column on the left.
Consider the following subtraction problem:
34
– 16
To subtract a larger number (6) from a smaller number (4), you must
borrow 10 from the column to the left to complete the subtraction.
Example:
1
34
– 16
18
By borrowing the one 10 from the three 10s in the left column, 4 becomes
14. The 3 in the left column becomes a 2. When you subtract 6 from 14, you
get 8, and 2 minus 1 equals 1, leaving you with an answer of 18.
Check Your Understanding
1. 2,222 + 99 =
2. 123,456 + 777 =
3. 9,689 + 245 =
4. 68,834 + 8,834 =
5. 64 + 7 =
6. 9,888 – 999 =
7. 90,145 – 326 =
8. 11,103 – 871 =
9. 48 – 19 =
10. 576 – 68 =
Multiplication
Multiplication is a shortcut for addition. The standard symbol for
multiplication is (×). Other ways of expressing multiplication include an
Subtraction in Everyday Life
1. Paul is an emergency medical technician who has earned 14 vacation days
this year. He has already taken 8. How many days does Paul have left?
2. As part of his job, Paul is required to complete 50 hours of continuing
education every year. So far this year, he has completed 13 hours. How
many hours does he have left to complete his education requirement for
the year?
3. Last month, Paul recorded 675 miles traveled in his ambulance. This
month, he has traveled 1,220 miles. How many more miles has he trav-
eled this month than last month?
Real Life Scenario
multiplication
mathematical operation
that indicates how many
times a number is added to
itself; a shortcut for addition