Question

The figure below shows the route that Maya traveled home from the library this afternoon.Maya wrote the expression 3 + 5 + 4.5 to represent the total distance that she traveled. Which statement best describes Maya's expression?Maya's expression will generate the correct sum because of the associative propertyMaya's expression will generate the correct sum because of the commutative propertyMaya's expression will generate the wrong sum because she violated the associative propertyMaya's expression will generate the wrong some because she violated the commutative property

Answer 1

The commutative property said:

a + b = b + a.

So, the expression to represent the total distance is:

5 + 4.5 + 3

By the commutative property, the total distance is equal to:

5 + 4.5 + 3 = 3 + 5 + 4.5,

Therefore, Maya is correct.

Answer: Maya's expression will generate the correct sum because of the commutative property