Determine Property of Addition
Introduction
Addition is one of the simplest math functions, and one of the first you learn. Addition has three properties - or rules - that you must follow when you add one or more numbers. These are:
- The cumulative property
- The associative property
- The identity property
Terms
Lesson
There are three properties of addition. Each of them works in a slightly different way, although they can all be combined.
Commutative Property
The commutative property of addition means that the order you add numbers doesn't make a difference to the final sum.
For example: 8 + 3 + 2 = 13 3 + 8 + 2 = 13 2 + 3 + 8 = 13
Whatever order we put the numbers, we still get the same result.
Associative Property
The associative property of addition means that however you group numbers (with parenthesis) the end result will not make a difference to the final sum.
For example:
5 + 3 + 9 + 8 = 25 (5 + 3) + 9 + 8 = 25 5 + (3 + 9 = 8) = 25
Also, because of the commutative property, we can shuffle the order as well and it won't change the result:
9 + (3 + 8) + 5 = 25
Identity Property
The identity property of addition means that whatever number you add to 0, the end result will be the number you added to 0.
For example:
8 + 0 = 8 0 + 73 = 73 5,78987 + 0 = 5,78987