Operations enjoy some properties that allow us to simplify calculations and rewrite expressions in more convenient equivalent forms. The first concerns the order of the terms.

Property — Commutative property of addition

In a sum of several numbers, the order of the terms can be changed, obtaining an equivalent expression: 3+7+1+4=7+4+3+1.3 + 7 + 1 + 4 = 7 + 4 + 3 + 1.

Changing the order of the addends never alters the result: we can therefore rearrange the terms to make the calculations quicker.

Topics: Numbers and operations
Concepts: Commutative property · Term