Here we will explain what "5 take away 12" means. Although you may not be familiar with this wording, "5 take away 12" is just a subtraction problem. We begin with the number 5, and since we need to "take away" 12, all we need to do is subtract 12 from 5.
Another way of thinking about "5 take away 12" is to replace the words "take away" with a subtraction symbol (-). When we turn "5 take away 12" into a subtraction equation, we can solve it like any other math problem. We have written the equation below:
5 - 12 = ?
Now that we know that "5 take away 12" is just another way of saying "5 minus 12," all we need to do is the actual math! You can use a calculator to find the answer by typing in 5, followed by the subtraction symbol (-), then 12, and finally, the equals symbol (=). Here is our solution to "5 take away 12":
5 take away 12 = -7
That’s all there is to it! Hopefully this helped you understand what "5 take away 12" means, so you can solve similar problems in the future.
Take Away Calculator
Use this tool to calculate another "take away" math problem