Question

Use the associative property
write an equivalent expression.
(5 + 7) + x =

Answer 1

5+(7+x)

Explanation:

Finding an Equivalent Expression

The associative property of addition states that you can move the terms that are inside the parentheses and still have the expression remain true. So, in the answer above, I moved 5 out of the parentheses and x into the parentheses. No matter the value of x the value of the expression will remain the same

Examples and Proof

Another example of the associative property could be (1+6)+3 = 1+(6+3). To prove this statement we can evaluate each side of the expression.

First, let's do (1+6)+3

• (1+6)+3
• (7)+3
• 10

Next, let's do 1+(6+3)

• 1+(6+3)
• 1+(9)
• 10

As you can see both of these expressions are the same, thus proving that the associative property works in this situation.