Given an equation, subtracting the same number from each side of the equation yields an equivalent equation.

The Subtraction Property of Equality also holds true if $a,$ $b,$ and $c$ are complex numbers. This property is one of the Properties of Equality that can be used when solving equations. $\begin{aligned} x+2&=7\\ x+2\textcolor{blue}{\,-{\,2}}&=7\textcolor{blue}{\,-{\,2}}\\ x&=5 \end{aligned}$ To isolate the variable, the addition of $2$ can be eliminated by subtracting $2$ from both sides of the equation, since subtraction is the inverse operation of addition.