Here we will explain what "5 take away 21" means. Although you may not be familiar with this wording, "5 take away 21" is just a subtraction problem. We begin with the number 5, and since we need to "take away" 21, all we need to do is subtract 21 from 5.
Another way of thinking about "5 take away 21" is to replace the words "take away" with a subtraction symbol (-). When we turn "5 take away 21" into a subtraction equation, we can solve it like any other math problem. We have written the equation below:
5 - 21 = ?
Now that we know that "5 take away 21" is just another way of saying "5 minus 21," 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 21, and finally, the equals symbol (=). Here is our solution to "5 take away 21":
5 take away 21 = -16
That’s all there is to it! Hopefully this helped you understand what "5 take away 21" means, so you can solve similar problems in the future.
Take Away Calculator
Use this tool to calculate another "take away" math problem