Article
Article
Subtraction
Article By:
Blumenthal, Leonard M. Formerly, Department of Mathematics, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.
Last reviewed:January 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.664700
One of the four fundamental operations of arithmetic and algebra. The first printed use of the symbol − to denote subtraction is in Johann Widman's Behennde und hüpsche Rechnung, Leipzig, 1489. Subtraction is often regarded as an operation inverse to addition, that is, if a and b are numbers, the number a − b is defined as that number which added to b gives a. The more modern viewpoint eliminates subtraction completely by considering the number a − b as the sum of a and that number (denoted by −b) which added to b gives 0. The number symbolized by −b is called the inverse of b (with respect to addition). Every real number has a unique inverse (the number 0 is its own inverse) and so for each two numbers x, y the operation x + (−y) gives a number. Clearly,
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
