Associative property in mathematics says that when multiplying or adding three or more numbers, the result remains unchanged no matter how the numbers are grouped. In associative property, the addends or multiplicand position can change but the results will still be the same. The associative property applies to only addition and multiplication. Let’s look at some examples of associative properties of addition and multiplication
What is Associative property?
The associative property states that no matter how three or more numbers are multiplied or added, the results remain unchanged. Associative property deals with the addition or multiplication of three numbers. Brackets are used to group two of the numbers.
Associative property of addition
The associative property of addition says that when you add three numbers in any order the result (sum) remains unchanged. If A, B, and C are three given numbers, the associative property of the addition formula is A+(B+C)=(A+B)+C. For example
4+(3+2)=(4+3)+2
5+(3+4)=(5+3)+4
Associative property of multiplication
The Associative property of multiplication says that when three numbers are multiplied by any other the results (product) remain unchanged. If A, B, and C are three given numbers, the associative property of the multiplication formula is A×(B×C)=(A×B)×C. Let’s understand the associative property of multiplication with some examples
5×(6×4)=(6×5)×4
3×(5×2)=(3×5)×2
NOTE: when rational numbers are Subtracted and Divided in any other the results will not be the same hence Subtraction and Division of rational numbers are not associative.
Read also:
• Distributive property