An algebraic subtraction is a mathematical operation.
Algebraic subtraction is the operation that consists of establishing the difference between two elements : thanks to subtraction, you can know how much one element is missing to be equal to the other.
The branch of mathematics that combines numbers, signs and letters to, respecting different rules, perform arithmetic operations is known as algebra . Algebra, therefore, emerged as an expansion of arithmetic .
Algebraic subtraction is said to be the inverse process of algebraic addition . What subtraction allows is to find the unknown quantity that, when added to the subtrahend (the element that indicates how much to subtract), results in the minuend (the element that decreases in the operation).
Features of algebraic subtraction
In addition to all the data offered so far about algebraic subtraction, it is necessary to know other equally interesting data such as the following as they allow us to understand it much better:
- It is defined as a comparison operation between two polynomials , since it determines what one is missing to become exactly the same as the other.
- The minuend is the polynomial that is going to decrease and the subtrahend is what indicates how much the minuend is going to “decrease” .
- The order of the minuend and subtrahend affects the result that will be obtained in the subtraction, which is why you have to pay close attention to it when undertaking this algebraic operation.
- This operation is determined by what is called the lock property. It makes it clear that the difference between the two polynomials in question will result in a third polynomial. That is, there will be the minuend (M), the subtrahend (S) and the difference (D), which reveal several aspects: the difference is equal to the subtraction of the subtrahend from the minuend; The minuend is equal to the sum of the subtrahend and the difference; and the subtrahend is equal to the subtraction of the difference from the minuend.
- In this type of algebraic subtraction there is no possibility for the associative property to take center stage, since the subtraction can only be undertaken between two polynomials.
Certain rules must be followed to carry out algebraic subtraction.
An example
Let's see how algebraic subtraction works through an example .
The operation 8 – 2 is an algebraic subtraction. In this case, 8 is the minuend (the number that will be reduced through subtraction) and 2 is the subtrahend (the number that indicates how much the minuend should be reduced).
The result of this algebraic subtraction is 6 . Thinking about the example with concrete units: if I have 8 apples and I eat 2 , I will have 6 apples left ( 8 – 2 = 6 ).
We also said that algebraic subtraction is an inverse operation to addition , since it allows us to discover what quantity needs to be added to the subtrahend to reach the minuend. With this unknown, we can pose the operation as follows:
2 + x = 8
x = 8 – 2
x = 6