Maths · First Adding & Taking Away
Taking away within 5
Take away from numbers up to 5.
Practice & Master are locked until you try:
What does taking away mean?
Taking away means you start with some things. Then you remove some. You count what is left. If you have 3 apples and eat 1, you took away 1 apple. Now you have 2 apples left!
Counting backwards helps
When you take away, you can count backwards. Start at the first number. Count back the number you take away. Where you stop is your answer. Try it with your fingers!
Taking away all means zero
If you take away all your things, you have zero left. Zero means nothing. If you have 4 sweets and eat all 4, you have 0 sweets left.
Taking away zero is easy
If you take away zero, nothing changes. You still have the same amount. 3 take away 0 is still 3. You didn't remove anything!
Worked examples
1. You have 4 toy cars. You give 2 away. How many are left?
- Start with 4 toy cars.
- Take away 2 cars: 4 take away 2.
- Count backwards: 4, 3, 2.
- You have 2 cars left.
2. There are 5 birds. 3 birds fly away. How many birds are left?
- Start with 5 birds.
- Take away 3 birds: 5 take away 3.
- Count backwards: 5, 4, 3, 2.
- There are 2 birds left.
3. You draw 3 stars. You erase 3 stars. How many are left?
- Start with 3 stars.
- Take away 3 stars: 3 take away 3.
- You took away all the stars.
- You have 0 stars left.
Try it yourself
You have 5 crayons. You lose 1 crayon. How many crayons do you have now?
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