Word problems involving subtraction of whole numbers

Example

The government grain reserve contains 1 993 720 bags of maize. If 980 610 bags of maize are supplied to the families facing food shortage, how many bags of maize will remain in the reserve?

Solution

Total number of bags in the reserve = 1 993 720 Number of bags given to the families = 980 610

In this example, you can subtract vertically or horizontally to get the number of bags remaining in the reserve. However, subtracting vertically is preferred. That is,

  1 993 720
-   980 610
-----------
  1 013 110

Therefore, 1 013 110 bags of maize remained in the reserve.

Example

The total number of cattle and goats in a certain district is 2 139 500. If the number of cattle is 1 104 563, what is the number of goats in the district?

Solution

Total number of cattle and goats in the district = 2 139 500 The number of cattle = 1 104 563

Subtract the numbers of cattle from the total number of cattle and goats to get the number of goats.

  2 139 500
- 1 104 563
-----------
  1 034 937

Therefore, the number of goats in the district is 1 034 937.