If someone asked you how old you are, would you tell them you were "011" years old? No, that would sound strange! You would say you were 11 years old. There's no need to include the zero at the beginning. We'll use the same rule when we are solving subtraction problems.
Take a look at the example below:
You've already learned how to solve this problem. First, subtract in the ones place (ones column), 7 minus 2 (7 - 2). Write "5" in the ones place under the equal bar.
What happens when you subtract in the tens place (tens column)? You get 4 minus 4 (4 - 4), which equals 0. But wait-don't write that number under the equal bar. When a number starts with zero, you don't write the zero. Just leave the space blank. The difference (answer) for this example equals 5.
Remember, this rule only applies when the number starts with zero. If there is a zero somewhere else in the number, you should write it. Look at this example:
When you subtract in the ones place, 4 - 4 equals 0. When you subtract in the tens place, 7 minus 2 equals 5 (7 - 2 = 5). The number does not start with zero, so you should write the zero. The difference for this example equals 50.
