What number is 3 less than 5?

When solving a question like "What number is 3 less than 5?", take a close look at what it is really asking.

You have the number 5 and you are looking for a number that is 3 less than 5. In other words, if you have 5 and take away 3, then how many do you have?

You guessed it! This is a subtraction problem. 5 is the minuend and 3 is subtrahend and the answer we are looking for is the difference.

Therefore, to solve "What number is 3 less than 5?", you subtract 3 from 5 like so:

5 - 3 = 2

Less Than Calculator
Need another answer? Enter another "What number is X less than Y?" problem below:

What number is 3 less than 6?
Proceed to the next problem on our list that we explained and answered.