Subtracting More Than Two Values

When you are working with more than two values in a long problem, you need to keep all of the numbers in place. We said it was important that you keep numbers in order when you have to values. When you have more than two values in a subtraction problem, order is everything.

You know that 6 - 3 is not the same as 3 - 6.
What if you get the problem 9 - 3 - 4?

You really have to keep the numbers in the correct order and move from left to right when you subtract. Work with two number at a time and then move to the right. So for our example...
9 - 3 - 4 = ?
(1) First part: 9 - 3 =6
(2) Use the 6 in the next part: 6 - 4 = 2
Answer: 9 - 3 - 4 = 2

Do it in a Series

But what if you have six (6) values? We admit that would be one hard subtraction problem, but it can be done. Just keep all of the numbers in order. Small steps will give you the correct answer.

Example:
89 - 20 - 16 - 11 - 21 = ?
(Step 1) 89 - 20 = 69
(Step 2) 69 - 16 = 53
(Step 3) 53 - 11 = 42
(Step 4) 42 - 21 = 21
Answer: 89 - 20 - 16 - 11 - 21 = 21

Grouping Values

You learned about grouping values in addition. Can you do the same thing with subtraction? No. You will learn some grouping shortcuts in the future, but there are no simple ways. Just go step-by-step for now.

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