Name___________________
Commutative, Identity, & Associative,
Properties
The operations of addition and multiplication share special
properties because multiplication is repeated addition.
Both addition and multiplication are commutative. This means that
order will not change the sum or product. (The order of the
numbers in the problem won’t change the answer.)
For example:
6+3=3+6
and 6 x 3 = 3 x 6
Addition and multiplication can also be associative. This means
that grouping addends or factors will not change the sum or
product. (No matter which 2 numbers you multiply or add first,
the answer is the same.)
For example:
(5 + 7) + 9 = 5 + (7 + 9)
(3 x 2) x 4 = 3 x (2 x 4)
***Subtraction and division DO NOT share the commutative
and associative properties.