Question

The commutative property of addition says you can add numbers in any order and get the same answer. Is the same true for subtraction?

22 – 12
10 12 – 22
–10
10 ≠ –10
22 – 12 ≠ 12 – 22
a – b ≠ b – a
Changing the order in which you subtract numbers does change the result, so the commutative property does not work for subtraction.

Answer 1

A.
2 – 12 = 12 – 2
B.
(3 – 11) – 5 = 3 – (11 – 5)
C.
8 + 7 = 7 + 8
D.
(6 + 9) + 4 = 6 + (9 + 4)