You can't take three from two

Two is less than three

So you look at the four in the tens place

Now that's really four tens

So you make it three tens

Regroup, and you change a ten to ten ones

And you add 'em to the two and get twelve

And you take away three, that's nine

Is that clear?

Now instead of four in the tens place

You've got three

Cause you added one

That is to say, ten, to the two

But you can't take seven from three

So you look in the hundreds place

From the three you then use one

To make ten ones

(And you know why four plus minus one

Plus ten is fourteen minus one?

Cause addition is commutative, right!)

And so you've got thirteen tens

And you take away seven

And that leaves five

Well, six actually

But the idea is the important thing!

Now go back to the hundreds place

You're left with two

And you take away one from two

And that leaves . . .?

Everybody get one?

Not bad for the first day!

Hooray for New Math

New-hoo-hoo Math

It won't do you a bit of good to review Math

It's so simple

So very simple

That only a child can do it!

Now, that actually is not the answer that I had in mind, because the book that I got this problem out of wants you to do it in base eight

But don't panic! Base eight is just like base ten really - if you're missing two fingers! Shall we have a go at it?

Hang on

You can't take three from two

Two is less than three

So you look at the four in the eights place

Now that's really four eights

So you make it three eights

Regroup, and you change an eight to eight ones

And you add 'em to the two

And you get one-two base eight

Which is ten base ten

And you take away three, that's seven

Ok?

Now instead of four in the eights place

You've got three

Cause you added one

That is to say, eight, to the two

But you can't take seven from three

So you look at the sixty-fours

Sixty-four? "How did sixty-four get into it?" I hear you cry!

Well, sixty-four is eight squared, don't you see?

(Well, ya ask a silly question, ya get a silly answer!)

From the three, you then use one

To make eight ones

You add those ones to the three

And you get one-three base eight

Or, in other words

In base ten you have eleven

And you take away seven

And seven from eleven is four!

Now go back to the sixty-fours

You're left with two

And you take away one from two

And that leaves . . .?

Now, let's not always see the same hands!

One, that's right

Whoever got one can stay after the show and clean the erasers

Hooray for New Math

New-hoo-hoo Math!

It won't do you a bit of good to review Math

It's so simple

So very simple

That only a child can do it!

Come back tomorrow night; we're gonna do fractions!

Y'know, I've often thought I'd like to write a mathematics textbook someday because I have a title that I know will sell a million copies; I'm gonna call it "Tropic of Calculus"