Subtract mixed numbersDenominators to 8
Name: Date:
Subtract. Write each answer as a mixed number in simplest form.
1315−112=
2523−378=
3514−478=
4413−318=
5578−413=
6123−137=
7213−178=
8235−114=
Subtracting mixed numbers worksheets
Subtracting mixed numbers is where fractions meet borrowing, and it is harder than adding them for exactly that reason. These free printable worksheets keep the wholes small and the denominators friendly so the borrow is the thing being practiced.
Kid stuck on one? You don’t just get the sheet.
Subtracting mixed numbers
The answer key prints on a separate page.
What's on this sheet
3 1/5 − 1 1/2 needs a common denominator first: 3 2/10 − 1 5/10. Now the fraction on top is smaller than the one below it, and one whole has to be broken into ten tenths before the subtraction can happen. That step has no equivalent in addition, and it is where nearly every mark on this topic is lost.
Why this sheet works
Doing the wholes and the fractions as two separate subtractions is what makes the difficulty visible, and it is worth keeping that layout even when a child could convert everything to improper fractions instead. The improper-fraction route works and it hides what is going on; a child who has borrowed once understands both.
How this one works
One question from this sheet, worked through a step at a time.
3 − 1
3−1
3=3
1=1
3−1
−?
3=2
2−1
=1
- A mixed number is a whole and a fraction stuck together. Deal with them separately — wholes with wholes, fifths with halves.
- The fraction halves are different sizes, so cut both into tenths first: 3 1/5 is 3 2/10, and 1 1/2 is 1 5/10.
- Now look at the fractions on their own: 2/10 take away 5/10 cannot be done — there are not enough tenths.
- So borrow one whole from the 3. One whole is 10/10, so 3 2/10 becomes 2 12/10 — the same amount, written with more tenths.
- Now it goes: 12/10 − 5/10 = 7/10, and 2 − 1 = 1. So the answer is 1 7/10.