Vertically align numbers with Larger Number on top:
| 1 | 8 | . | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| − | 2 | . | 9 | 5 | 3 |
Subtract using place value:
| Tens | Ones | Tenths | Hundredths | Thousandths | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 10 | |||||
| 7 | 10 | 0 | 10 | |||
| 18.01 | 1 | 8 | . | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2.953 | 2 | . | 9 | 5 | 3 | |
| Difference | 1 | 5 | . | 0 | 5 | 7 |
Column traversal from right to left
Thousandths column:
Thousandths column:
- Since 0 is less than 3, we have to borrow 1 from the Hundredths column
- As a result, 0 becomes 10, and 10 − 3 = 7
- The 1 in the Hundredths column becomes 0
Hundredths column:
- Since 0 is less than 5, we have to borrow 1 from the Tenths column
- As a result, 0 becomes 10, and 10 − 5 = 5
- The 0 in the Tenths column becomes 9 after borrowing 1 from its regrouped value of 10
Tenths column:
- 9 − 9 = 0
- Because it was the first nonzero digit to the left of the 1 in the Hundredths column, the 8 in the Ones column became 7 after 1 was borrowed for the purpose of regrouping the 0 in the Tenths column (borrowing across a 0)
Ones column:
- 7 − 2 = 5
Tens column:
- 1 − 0 = 1
| 9 | 10 | |||||
| 7 | 10 | 0 | 10 | |||
| 1 | 8 | . | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| − | 2 | . | 9 | 5 | 3 | |
| 1 | 5 | . | 0 | 5 | 7 |
Therefore, the Difference between 18.01 and 2.953 is 15.057
Check computation by comparing Larger Number and the Sum of Difference and Smaller Number:
| 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 1 | 5 | . | 0 | 5 | 7 | |
| 2 | . | 9 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 1 | 8 | . | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Sum of Difference and Smaller Number = 18.01 (trailing zero is dropped)
Sum of Difference and Smaller Number = Larger Number (18.01 = 18.01) ✓
