5 or less balls were in a box. Some balls were crossed out and taken away. The number of balls taken away and the number left were counted. Subtraction is taking away parts of a set. For example, in the subtraction sentence 5 - 2 = 3, 5 is the total number, 2 is taken away, and 3 is the number left, or the difference.
7. Below is a subtraction sentence.
5 - 2 = 3
minus sign
equal sign
difference
8. A subtraction sentence has the
following parts:
• The minus sign (-), which is read as “minus” or
“take away”.
• The equal sign (=), which is read as “equals” or “is
equal to”.
• The difference, which is the answer in subtraction.