Subtracting with Regrouping (Hundreds) & Word Problems

Free sample questions, a clear explanation, and 5 practice skills with an AI tutor that guides without giving the answer away.

Be a Subtraction Superhero! 🦸‍♀️

Hey Math Explorer! Have you ever wanted to trade a big toy for a bunch of smaller ones? Imagine you have a big $100 bill, but you need to buy a snack that costs $20. You can't just rip the bill! You have to trade it for smaller bills, like ten $10 bills.

That's exactly what we do in subtraction when a number on top is too small. We call it regrouping, and it’s like being a money-trading expert!

Trading from the Hundreds Place

Let's look at a problem like 429 - 153. When we get to the tens place, we see we need to take 5 tens from 2 tens. We can't do that! So, we knock on the door of the hundreds place next door.

We take 1 hundred from the 4 hundreds (leaving 3 hundreds).
We trade that 1 hundred for 10 tens.
We add those 10 tens to the 2 tens we already had. Now we have 12 tens!
Now it's easy! 12 tens - 5 tens = 7 tens. You did it!

🔑 Key Takeaway

When the top digit is smaller than the bottom digit, go one place to the left and regroup! A hundred becomes ten tens, and a ten becomes ten ones. It's all about making a fair trade!

Detective Time: Solving Word Problems!

Word problems are just math stories waiting to be solved. We can use a special tool called a bar model to draw a picture of the story. Let's solve a mission together!

Mission: Sarah has 450 stickers. She gives 125 to her friend and buys 50 more. How many stickers does she have now?

Step 1: Giving stickers away (Subtraction)

First, Sarah gives away 125 stickers. We start with the total (450) and take away a part (125).

450 (Total Stickers)

125 (Gave away)

? (Left)

450 - 125 = 325 stickers left

Step 2: Getting more stickers (Addition)

Now, Sarah has 325 stickers and buys 50 more. We are adding two parts together to find the new total.

325 (Has now)

50 (Buys more)

? (New Total)

325 + 50 = 375 stickers

Mission Complete! Sarah has 375 stickers now. Great work, Math Detective!

Sample questions

1. Subtract: 345 - 182 = ?

✓ 163

○ 263

○ 243

○ 153

Answer: 163 — Remember to regroup from the hundreds place if the tens digit on top is smaller!

2. A farmer had 527 apples. He sold 263 apples. How many apples are left?

○ 344

✓ 264

○ 364

○ 790

Answer: 264 — When you sell apples, you subtract. Don't forget to regroup!

3. What is the difference between 713 and 358?

○ 445

○ 455

✓ 355

○ 345

Answer: 355 — Start subtracting from the ones place. You might need to regroup more than once!

Skills in this topic

Subtract two 3-digit numbers with regrouping from the hundreds place to the tens place
Subtract two 3-digit numbers with regrouping across all places (hundreds, tens, ones)
Solve one-step subtraction word problems within 1,000 using bar models
Solve two-step word problems involving addition and subtraction within 1,000 using bar models
Sarah has 450 stickers. She gives 125 to her friend and buys 50 more. Draw a bar model to show how many stickers she has now and explain your steps

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