Properties of Operations

Question	Answer
Associative Property of Addition	When three or more numbers are added, the sum is the same regardless of the grouping of the addends. For example (a + b) + c = a + (b + c)
Associative Property of Multiplication	When three or more numbers are multiplied, the product is the same regardless of the order of the multiplicands. For example (a x b) x c = a x (b x c)
Commutative Property of Addition	When two numbers are added, the sum is the same regardless of the order of the addends. For example a + b = b + a
Commutative Property of Multiplication	When two numbers are multiplied together, the product is the same regardless of the order of the multiplicands. For example a x b = b x a
Distributive Property	The sum of two numbers times a third number is equal to the sum of each addend times the third number. For example a x (b + c) = a x b + a x c
Identity Property of Addition	The sum of any number and zero is the original number. For example a + 0 = a.
Identity Property of Multiplication	The product of any number and one is that number. For example a x 1 = a.
Additive Inverse of a Number	The additive inverse of a number, a is -a so that a + -a = 0.
Multiplicative Inverse of a Number	The multiplicative inverse of a number, a is 1/a so that a x 1/a = 1.

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	Created by Amie Elizabeth about 9 years ago