Vertically align numbers with Larger Number on top:
| 0 | . | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| − | 0 | . | 4 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
Subtract using place value:
| Ones | Tenths | Hundredths | Thousandths | Ten Thousandths | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | ||||||
| 5 | 10 | 10 | ||||
| 0.86 | 0 | . | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 0.4529 | 0 | . | 4 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| Difference | 0 | . | 4 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
Column traversal from right to left
Ten Thousandths column:
Ten Thousandths column:
- Since 0 is less than 9, we have to borrow 1 from the Thousandths column
- As a result, 0 becomes 10, and 10 − 9 = 1
- 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 6 in the Hundredths column became 5 after 1 was borrowed for the purpose of regrouping the 0 in the Thousandths column (borrowing across a 0)
Hundredths column:
- 5 − 5 = 0
Tenths column:
- 8 − 4 = 4
Ones column:
- 0 − 0 = 0
| 9 | ||||||
| 5 | 10 | 10 | ||||
| 0 | . | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| − | 0 | . | 4 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| 0 | . | 4 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
Therefore, the Difference between 0.86 and 0.4529 is 0.4071
Check computation by comparing Larger Number and the Sum of Smaller Number and Difference:
| 1 | 1 | |||||
| 0 | . | 4 | 5 | 2 | 9 | |
| 0 | . | 4 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
| 0 | . | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Sum of Smaller Number and Difference = 0.86 (trailing zeros are dropped)
Sum of Smaller Number and Difference = Larger Number (0.86 = 0.86) ✓
