Hotmath
Math Homework. Do It Faster, Learn It Better.

The Commutative Laws (or Properties) of Addition and Multiplication

The Commutative Laws (or the Commutative Properties)

The commutative laws state that the order in which you add or multiply two real numbers does not affect the result.

The Commutative Law of Addition:

a + b = b + a

Example 1:

3 + 5 = 5 + 3 = 8 20 + ( − 3 ) = ( − 3 ) + 20 = 17

The Commutative Law of Multiplication:

a b = b a

Example 2:

4 ⋅ 5 = 5 ⋅ 4 = 20 ( − 2 ) ( 8 ) = ( 8 ) ( − 2 ) = − 16