Subtracting Decimals

Decimals practice

Subtract numbers with up to two decimal places, including regrouping.

About this practice

Subtract the second number from the first and type the exact difference.

The numbers have up to two decimal places. Some questions use different numbers of decimal places, like 6.5 − 2.18, and some start with a whole number, like 3 − 0.48. The first number is always the larger, so the answer is never zero or negative. A zero at the end does not change a value, so 2.5 and 2.50 are the same answer.

Typical level: Grade 5In the U.S. Common Core, Grade 5 subtracts decimals to hundredths. Curriculum timing varies.

Fill empty places with zeros, then subtract each place

Tenths come from tenths and hundredths from hundredths, so the decimal points line up, not the last digits. Subtract from right to left. When the top digit is smaller than the digit below it, regroup 1 from the place to its left as 10 of the current place. This is often called borrowing.

Example: 6.5 − 2.18

6.5 minus 2.18 is 4.32, written as a column problem with the decimal points lined up. 6.5 is written as 6.50. A zero added at the end does not change its value. Regrouping, 6.50 is worked as 6 ones + 4 tenths + 10 hundredths.

Zeros added at the end do not change the value.

Crossed-out digits show regrouping. The small 1 before a digit means 10 more of that place.

Line up the places 6.5 = 6.50 6.5 has no hundredths digit, so you can write it as 6.50. Adding a zero at the end does not change its value, and it gives the hundredths column a digit to work with.

Regroup where the top digit is too small 10 − 8 = 2 hundredths 0 hundredths is too few to take 8 from. Do not subtract 0 from 8. Regroup 1 tenth as 10 hundredths. The tenths place is left with 4.

Subtract the rest 4 − 1 = 3 tenths 6 − 2 = 4 ones. 6.5 − 2.18 = 4.32

Check by adding: 4.32 + 2.18 = 6.50.

Regrouping through a zero

3 minus 0.48 is 2.52, written as a column problem with the decimal points lined up. 3 is written as 3.00. A zero added at the end does not change its value. Regrouping, 3.00 is worked as 2 ones + 9 tenths + 10 hundredths.

Zeros added at the end do not change the value.

Crossed-out digits show regrouping. The small 1 before a digit means 10 more of that place.

3 − 0.48

3 = 3.00 = 2 ones + 9 tenths + 10 hundredths

Hundredths: 10 − 8 = 2

Tenths: 9 − 4 = 5

Ones: 2 − 0 = 2

3 − 0.48 = 2.52

The hundredths place needs a regroup, but the tenths place is 0 and has none to give. So regroup from the ones first: 1 one becomes 10 tenths, then 1 of those tenths becomes 10 hundredths.

A zero in the middle works the same way. In 4.05 − 1.27 = 2.78, the tenths place is 0, so the regroup passes through it.