Vähennyslaskun

Vähennyslasku, known in English as subtraction, is a fundamental arithmetic operation. It is the inverse operation of addition. In subtraction, we take away a quantity from another quantity. The result of a subtraction is called the difference.

The symbol used for subtraction is a hyphen or a minus sign (–). When we write a subtraction problem, the number from which we are subtracting is called the minuend, and the number that is being subtracted is called the subtrahend. For example, in the equation 8 – 3 = 5, 8 is the minuend, 3 is the subtrahend, and 5 is the difference.

Subtraction can be understood as finding the difference between two numbers, determining how many are left after some are removed, or finding a missing addend. For instance, if you have 10 apples and eat 4, you are left with 6 apples (10 – 4 = 6). Subtraction is also used to determine the distance between two numbers on a number line.

The properties of subtraction are different from those of addition. Subtraction is not commutative, meaning that the order of the numbers matters (a – b is not always equal to b – a). It is also not associative, so the grouping of numbers in a sequence of subtractions can affect the outcome ((a – b) – c is not always equal to a – (b – c)). Subtracting zero from a number leaves the number unchanged (a – 0 = a). Subtracting a number from itself results in zero (a – a = 0).