The expression "5 − 3" represents a simple arithmetic operation known as subtraction. In this case, you start with the number 5 and take away 3. Subtraction is one of the four basic operations in mathematics, along with addition, multiplication, and division. When you perform the calculation, you find that 5 minus 3 equals 2. This means that if you have 5 items and remove 3 of them, you will be left with 2 items. Subtraction helps us understand how quantities change when we take some away.