The Laws of Arithmetic

 There are 3 laws of arithmetic namely –

1. Commutative law
2. Associative law
3. Distributive law

COMMUTATIVE - ReORDER of Elements

ASSOCIATIVE - ReGROUPING of ELEMENTS
DISTRIBUTIVE - a ( b + c ) = ab + ac

COMMUTATIVE LAW

 Simply put, the commutative property states that the factors in an equation
can be rearranged freely without affecting the outcome of the equation. The
commutative property, therefore, concerns itself with the ordering of
operations, including the addition and multiplication of real numbers,
integers, and rational numbers.

 For example, the numbers 2, 3, and 5 can be added together in any order
without affecting the final result:

2 + 3 + 5 = 10
3 + 2 + 5 = 10
5 + 3 + 2 = 10

 The numbers can likewise be multiplied in any order without affecting the
final result:

2 x 3 x 5 = 30
3 x 2 x 5 = 30
5 x 3 x 2 = 30
ASSOCIATIVE LAW

The associative property states that the grouping of factors in an operation can
be changed without affecting the outcome of the equation. This can be
expressed through the equation a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c. No matter which pair
of values in the equation is added first, the result will be the same.

For example, take the equation 2 + 3 + 5. No matter how the values are
grouped, the result of the equation will be 10:

(2 + 3) + 5 = (5) + 5 = 10
2 + (3 + 5) = 2 + (8) = 10

As with the commutative property, examples of operations that are associative

include the addition and multiplication of real numbers, integers, and rational
numbers. However, unlike the commutative property, the associative property
can also apply to matrix multiplication and function composition.

Like commutative property equations, associative property equations cannot

contain the subtraction of real numbers. Take, for example, the arithmetic
problem (6 – 3) – 2 = 3 – 2 = 1; if we change the grouping of the parentheses,
we have 6 – (3 – 2) = 6 – 1 = 5, which changes the final result of the equation.

DIFFERENCE b/w COMMUTATIVE and ASSOCIATIVE

We can tell the difference between the associative and the commutative
property by asking the question, “Are we changing the order of the elements,
or are we changing the grouping of the elements?” If the elements are being
reordered, then the commutative property applies. If the elements are only
being regrouped, then the associative property applies.

However, note that the presence of parentheses alone does not necessarily
mean that the associative property applies. For instance:

(2 + 3) + 4 = 4 + (2 + 3)

This equation is an example of the commutative property of addition of real

numbers. If we pay careful attention to the equation, though, we see that only
the order of the elements has been changed, not the grouping. For the
associative property to apply, we would have to rearrange the grouping of the
elements as well:

(2 + 3) + 4 = (4 + 2) + 3