Grade 2 Subtraction Practice
Twenty grade 2 subtraction facts within 20, only two of which need borrowing — this page is for recall speed, not the algorithm. PDF with answers.
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Three different problem sets — same skill, same layout, fresh numbers.
Preview — Set A
Solve each problem. Show your work in the space provided.
- 1.9 − 4 =
- 2.8 − 7 =
- 3.2 − 0 =
- 4.9 − 3 =
- 5.11 − 10 =
- 6.19 − 16 =
- 7.19 − 4 =
- 8.3 − 1 =
- 9.1 − 0 =
- 10.13 − 5 =
- 11.15 − 2 =
- 12.18 − 1 =
- 13.12 − 5 =
- 14.4 − 3 =
- 15.8 − 8 =
- 16.8 − 3 =
- 17.4 − 1 =
- 18.16 − 5 =
- 19.6 − 2 =
- 20.14 − 3 =
What this worksheet covers
Set A of this grade 2 drill sheet holds twenty subtraction problems on one printable page, with the answer key on the page behind it. Two of the twenty column problems need regrouping and the rest do not, so the two cases are mixed rather than blocked and the numbers run as high as 19. Two problems from the middle of the page — "19 − 4" and "4 − 3" — show the range. Common Core 2.NBT.5 is the slot this page fills.
Skills practised
The grade 2 subtraction sequence covers two-digit subtraction within 100 with regrouping, and mental subtraction of 10 and 100; this page sits inside it. Specifically, the problems practise grade 2 Subtraction Practice. Working the page asks a student to regroup past ten rather than counting up one at a time. Thirteen different answers appear across the twenty problems, so a student cannot copy one result down the page.
About the drill format
This drill runs 20 problems in a steady layout, so the eye never has to hunt for the next one; problem 7, "19 − 4" shows the level it holds. A page of same-shaped differences is where a borrowing method either settles or shows its cracks.
Set A, Set B and Set C
Set A is the original MathSheetLab worksheet; Sets B and C keep its structure and redraw the numbers, with each answer recomputed rather than copied. Where Set A's problem 11 is "15 − 2", Set B's is "12 − 3".
How to use this worksheet
Sit alongside for this subtraction drill. At grade 2 the useful information is not the score but which of the twenty problems drew a pause. If more than a third of the twenty problems come back wrong, stop and step back a grade in subtraction rather than assigning Set B.
One mistake to watch for
The smaller digit is always taken from the larger: 52 − 38 becomes 26. Watch problem 14 of this drill — "4 − 3" — for this one.
The student is applying "big minus small" column by column instead of treating the top number as a whole.
Model 52 with base-ten blocks and ask whether 8 ones can be taken from 2 ones; the trade of a ten for ten ones has to be seen before it can be written.
Other grade 2 subtraction formats
The same skill in the other formats available at this grade.
- Timed Drill — Grade 2 Subtraction Timed Drill, 60 problems
- Missing Number — Grade 2 Subtraction Missing Number, 24 problems
- Mixed Review — 2.MD.6 — Subtraction on a Number Line, 20 problems
- Word Problems — Grade 2 Subtraction Word Problems, 8 problems
- Vertical Format — Grade 2 Subtraction Vertical Format, 20 problems
A step either side
The same format one grade down and one grade up — the easier sheet is often the faster fix when this one is not landing.
- Subtracting Multiples of 10 — Grade 1 Practice — grade 1, 22 problems
- Grade 3 Subtraction Drill — grade 3, 30 problems
Drill sheets in other grade 2 topics
Free to download, print and photocopy for a whole class: three drill sheets of grade 2 subtraction, twenty problems each, keys included.