Grade 5 Subtracting Decimals to Hundredths
Subtracting decimals to hundredths in grade 5, with the decimal points aligned before anything else happens. Eighteen problems plus a full key.
Subtract the decimals. Line up the decimal points before you subtract.
- 1.40.85 − 2.75 =
- 2.46.96 − 34.84 =
- 3.38.11 − 22.55 =
- 4.52.94 − 10.85 =
- 5.20.13 − 8.47 =
- 6.18.85 − 4.61 =
- 7.38.77 − 21.24 =
- 8.35.89 − 1.93 =
- 9.58.49 − 47.86 =
- 10.49.67 − 43.86 =
- 11.51.84 − 8.42 =
- 12.32.47 − 12.03 =
- 13.31.24 − 28.24 =
- 14.53.67 − 40.73 =
- 15.45.17 − 38.24 =
- 16.55.96 − 31.37 =
- 17.14.16 − 9.72 =
- 18.56.89 − 43.07 =
What this worksheet covers
The sheet holds eighteen subtraction problems and prints to a single black-and-white page; the answers follow on page two. What makes this set particular: the operands run to as many as two decimal places, so the decimal points have to be lined up rather than the right-hand digits; numbers reach 58.49. The whole sheet sits inside Common Core 5.NBT.7, in the grade 5 Number & Operations in Base Ten strand.
Skills practiced
Grade 5 sits in the stretch of the subtraction progression concerned with decimals, and fractions with unlike denominators. Working the page asks a student to keep decimal points aligned rather than right-aligning digits out of habit. A right answer arrived at by an unreliable route is worth less here than a slower, repeatable one.
How to use this worksheet
Have the student work all eighteen problems on their own paper, showing each step, rather than filling answers into the gaps. At grade 5 the method is what is being practised, and an answer with no visible working cannot be diagnosed when it is wrong. Mark it together rather than handing it back scored. The conversation about a wrong answer is where the teaching happens.
One mistake to watch for
A whole number minus a decimal is misaligned: 6 − 2.75 = 4.75 or 3.25.
The whole number has no decimal point to align to, so digits are pushed to the right edge instead.
Write 6 as 6.00 before starting. The placeholder zeros make the columns unambiguous.
Related worksheets
Also aligned to 5.NBT.7
Different problem sets against the same standard — useful when one page was not enough, or when a student needs the same skill approached from another topic.
- Grade 5 Adding Decimals to Hundredths — grade 5, 18 problems
- Dividing Decimals to Hundredths — Grade 5 Practice — grade 5, 22 problems
A step either side
Where this skill comes from and where it goes next. Drop back a grade when the page stalls; move up when it does not.
- Grade 4 Multi-Digit Subtraction (Standard Algorithm) — grade 4, 16 problems
- Grade 6 Subtracting Multi-Digit Decimals — grade 6, 16 problems
Print as many copies of this grade 5 subtraction worksheet as you need. It was built for decimals, and fractions with unlike denominators, and the answer key is already in the file.