Question

Tom is showing his work in simplifying (5.2 – 8.5) – 0.5 + 6.8. In which step did Tom make an error?

Step 1:: (5.2 – 8.5) – 0.5 + 6.8

Step 2: 5.2 + (–8.5 – 0.5) + 6.8 (distributive property)

Step 3: 5.2 – 9 + 6.8

Step 4: 5.2 + 6.8 – 9 (commutative property)

Step 5: 12 – 9 = 3

Step 2; he wrote distributive instead of commutative

Step 2; he wrote distributive instead of associative

Step 4; he wrote commutative instead of associative

Step 4; he wrote commutative instead of distributive

Answer 1

He wrote distributive instead of associative :)