The associative property says that the product will be the same regardless of how the factors are grouped.
Parentheses are used to show which group you must multiply first.
Is the statement below true?
(4 x 5) x 3 = 4 x (5 x 3)
Click to view the answer
Yes! Solving the equation both ways gets a product of 60.
(4 x 5) x 3 = 4 x (5 x 3)
20 x 3 = 4 x 15
60 = 60
Practice Problems
Is the following statement true?
(3 x 2) x 5 = 3 x (2 x 5)
Is the following statement true?
(2 x 7) x 3 = 2 x (7 x 4)
