Final answer:
Subtraction does not have a commutative property like addition; changing the order changes the result. Subtraction requires changing the sign of the number being subtracted before adding.
Step-by-step explanation:
The commutative property of addition states that numbers can be added in any order without changing the result. For example, 3+2 equals 5, and 2+3 also equals 5. On the contrary, the commutative property does not apply to subtraction. Subtraction is anticommutative, meaning that changing the order of the numbers changes the result. To illustrate, 5-3 equals 2, but 3-5 equals -2, which is not the same as 2.
When working with subtraction, you must change the sign of the number being subtracted and then proceed with addition. For example, to subtract -6 from 2, you change the sign of -6 to +6 and then add it to 2, resulting in 2+6 which equals 8. This process applies to scalars and is used graphically in vector subtraction as well, where you flip the vector direction.