Math is not life, it is artifice that takes people away from their souls and hearts. But as it is inappropriately required for degrees, people are forced to waste soul and time following made up, narrow ways of viewing and thinking about life.
So - why in basic subtraction do we "carry" a #?
As in say,
5560
-4558.34 = ?
For instance the 0 over 8 seems to require carrying a number, but 0 doesnt even exist so why carry anything?
2007-04-04 20:24:53 · 4 answers · asked by sdog 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
It's not really "carrying". What you're doing is borrowing 10 from the 10's place, since you can't subtract 8 from 0.
5560 = 5550 + 10
Think of it as 555(10), where you have a ten in the 1's place. That way you can subtract 8 from 10.
2007-04-04 20:32:38 · answer #1 · answered by Bramblyspam 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
5560
-4558
Don't think of it as zero minus 8, look at the last 2 digits and think of it as 60 minus 58.
60 is equal to 50 + 10. When you "borrow" the one from the 6, you are breaking 60 down into 50 and 10. This makes the subtraction easier. ("Borrow" is the right word when subtracting. You only "Carry" when adding or multiplying.)
2007-04-04 20:36:07 · answer #2 · answered by acousticbob 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
because it is easier to take away a smaller number from a bigger number than vice versa, at least intuitively. and the 0 actually is part of an invisible "10" so the carry indicates that the unit value on the bottom is taking away from a "10" in the case of 0, "11" in the case of 1, etc.
2007-04-04 20:31:37 · answer #3 · answered by hello_be_happy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How else would u do it?
2007-04-04 20:31:53 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋