Vertically align numbers with Larger Number on top:
| 5 | . | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| − | 0 | . | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
Subtract using place value:
| Ones | Tenths | Hundredths | Thousandths | Ten Thousandths | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 9 | |||||
| 6 | 2 | 10 | 10 | |||
| 5.73 | 5 | . | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 0.0821 | 0 | . | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| Difference | 5 | . | 6 | 4 | 7 | 9 |
Column traversal from right to left
Ten Thousandths column:
Ten Thousandths column:
- Since 0 is less than 1, we have to borrow 1 from the Thousandths column
- As a result, 0 becomes 10, and 10 − 1 = 9
- The 0 in the Thousandths column becomes 9 after borrowing 1 from its regrouped value of 10
Thousandths column:
- 9 − 2 = 7
- Because it was the first nonzero digit to the left of the 0 in the Ten Thousandths column, the 3 in the Hundredths column became 2 after 1 was borrowed for the purpose of regrouping the 0 in the Thousandths column (borrowing across a 0)
Hundredths column:
- Since 2 is less than 8, we have to borrow 1 from the Tenths column
- As a result, 2 becomes 12, and 12 − 8 = 4
- The 7 in the Tenths column becomes 6
Tenths column:
- 6 − 0 = 6
Ones column:
- 5 − 0 = 5
| 12 | 9 | |||||
| 6 | 2 | 10 | 10 | |||
| 5 | . | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| − | 0 | . | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | . | 6 | 4 | 7 | 9 |
Therefore, the Difference between 5.73 and 0.0821 is 5.6479
Check computation by comparing Larger Number and the Sum of Difference and Smaller Number:
| 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 5 | . | 6 | 4 | 7 | 9 | |
| 0 | . | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | |
| 5 | . | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Sum of Difference and Smaller Number = 5.73 (trailing zeros are dropped)
Sum of Difference and Smaller Number = Larger Number (5.73 = 5.73) ✓
