wunder beta🏗️ Adding and Subtracting Four-Digit Numbers
Stack big numbers in neat columns and work through carrying and borrowing until adding and subtracting thousands feels as easy as tens.
What you’ll learn
- Four-Digit ColumnsAdd and subtract numbers up to four digits with formal column methods, carrying and exchanging across columns.Four-digit numbers add a thousands place, but the column method is unchanged: line up every place and work from the right. Carry a 1 when a column tops 9 (3,482 + 2,156 = 5,638) and exchange when a top digit is too small (5,204 − 1,867 = 3,337), even when the exchange ripples across a zero.
- Fluent Within 1,000Add and subtract within 1,000 fluently, choosing efficient methods and checking with estimates.Fluency is being both quick and accurate. Add three-digit numbers by place (456 + 237 = 600 + 80 + 13 = 693) and subtract by jumping back in pieces (623 − 158 = 465) or with column exchange. Choose the method that fits the numbers, and estimate first to make sure the answer is sensible.
Questions this course answers
In 3,482, what does the 3 stand for?
The 3 is in the thousands place, so it means 3 thousands (3,000).
What is 3,482 + 2,156?
Adding each column from the right, with a carry in the tens, gives 5,638.
What is 5,204 − 1,867?
Exchanging across the columns gives 5,204 − 1,867 = 3,337.
When a column adds to more than 9, you...
Carrying moves an extra ten (or hundred, or thousand) into the next column left.
What is 623 − 158?
Jump back 100, 50, then 8: 523, 473, 465.
Grounded in trusted sources
- Khan Academy Kids
- PBS Kids — early math
- NAEYC — early math learning
- Britannica Kids
Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.
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