Chapter 7 · NCERT Class 1 Joyful Mathematics

Lina's Family

Lina's family shares mangoes, toffees and pencils. When some are eaten or given away, we take away to see what is left. We learn the minus sign, how to count back, and how many more one person has. Tap a word to begin!

🥭 3 topics⏱ ~12 min📝 8-question quiz

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Five take-away words

Subtracting means taking some away to see what is left. Tap each word to see how.

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Three take-away ideas

Subtracting means taking some away from a group.
The number you are left with is the answer.
If 7 mangoes are in a bowl and 2 are eaten, 5 mangoes are left.

Let us try. Lina had 6 laddoos. She gave 2 to her cousin. How many are left?

Take 2 away from 6: 6 − 2 = 4 laddoos left.

The − sign means take away. We read 6 − 2 as "six minus two".
To count back, start at the big number and step backwards.
For 8 − 3: start at 8, then say 7, 6, 5. The answer is 5.

Subtraction also tells us how many more one group has than another.
Lina has 8 toffees, her brother has 5. The difference is 8 − 5 = 3.
So Lina has 3 more toffees than her brother.

Remember: adding and taking away are opposites. Adding makes more; taking away leaves less.

Where you'll use it

Taking away every day

Sharing your snacks

You have 8 biscuits and give 3 to a friend. Taking away shows you have 5 left for yourself.

How many left to do?

Ten sums for homework and you finish 4. Subtracting tells you 6 sums are still left.

Who has more?

You have 9 marbles and your friend has 6. The difference, 3, tells you how many more you have.

Check yourself

Practice quiz

A friendly set of questions about taking away, the minus sign, counting back and how many more.

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