Vertically align numbers with Larger Number on top:
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| − | 1 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
Subtract using place value:
| Thousands | Hundreds | Tens | Ones | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 9 | |||
| 1 | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
| 2,000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1,537 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| Difference | 4 | 6 | 3 |
Column traversal from right to left
Ones column:
Ones column:
- Since 0 is less than 7, we have to borrow 1 from the Tens column
- As a result, 0 becomes 10, and 10 − 7 = 3
- The 0 in the Tens column becomes 9 after borrowing 1 from its regrouped value of 10
Tens column:
- 9 − 3 = 6
- The 0 in the Hundreds column became 9 after 1 was borrowed from its regrouped value of 10 for the purpose of regrouping the 0 in the Tens column
Hundreds column:
- 9 − 5 = 4
- Because it was the first nonzero digit to the left of the 0 in the Ones column, the 2 in the Thousands column became 1 after 1 was borrowed for the purpose of regrouping the 0 in the Hundreds column (borrowing across 0s)
Thousands column:
- 1 − 1 = 0
Note: Leading zero is dropped
| 9 | 9 | |||
| 1 | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| − | 1 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| 4 | 6 | 3 |
Therefore, the Difference between 2,000 and 1,537 is 463
Check computation by comparing Larger Number and the Sum of Smaller Number and Difference:
| 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 5 | 3 | 7 | |
| 4 | 6 | 3 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sum of Smaller Number and Difference = 2,000
Sum of Smaller Number and Difference = Larger Number (2,000 = 2,000) ✓
