Mental Math Secret

Count-Up Subtraction

Don't borrow! Start at the small number, jump forward to easy friendly numbers (like 10s and 100s), and count how far you jumped.

Try an example:
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Problem: 72 − 38 = 34
Start at 38, jump up to 72. Total jumped = 34!
Showing Jump 3 of 3

Your Jumps Click any jump to highlight

Add Your Jumps Up:

Old Way vs. Count-Up Way Easy Mental Math

Old Way: Borrowing

Crossing out numbers and borrowing across columns gets messy and confusing!

New Way: Counting Up
💡 Secret Trick: When subtracting across zeros (like 500 − 237 or 1,000 − 368), counting up is magic—you never have to borrow!