Vertically align numbers with Larger Number on top:
| 7 | 4 | 6 | 8 | |
| − | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
Subtract using place value:
| Thousands | Hundreds | Tens | Ones | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 14 | |||
| 7,468 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| 2,531 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Difference | 4 | 9 | 3 | 7 |
Column traversal from right to left
Ones column:
Ones column:
- 8 − 1 = 7
Tens column:
- 6 − 3 = 3
Hundreds column:
- Since 4 is less than 5, we have to borrow 1 from the Thousands column
- As a result, 4 becomes 14, and 14 − 5 = 9
- The 7 in the Thousands column becomes 6
Thousands column:
- 6 − 2 = 4
| 6 | 14 | |||
| 7 | 4 | 6 | 8 | |
| − | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| 4 | 9 | 3 | 7 |
Therefore, the Difference between 7,468 and 2,531 is 4,937
Check computation by comparing Larger Number and the Sum of Difference and Smaller Number:
| 1 | ||||
| 4 | 9 | 3 | 7 | |
| 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | |
| 7 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
Sum of Difference and Smaller Number = 7,468
Sum of Difference and Smaller Number = Larger Number (7,468 = 7,468) ✓
