What number is 21 less than 59?

When solving a question like "What number is 21 less than 59?", take a close look at what it is really asking.

You have the number 59 and you are looking for a number that is 21 less than 59. In other words, if you have 59 and take away 21, then how many do you have?

You guessed it! This is a subtraction problem. 59 is the minuend and 21 is subtrahend and the answer we are looking for is the difference.

Therefore, to solve "What number is 21 less than 59?", you subtract 21 from 59 like so:

59 - 21 = 38

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What number is 21 less than 60?
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