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Commutative Property

The basic Number Properties (or laws) that apply to arithmetic operations are Commutative Property, Associative Property, Identity Property and Distributive Property.

Commutative Property

An operation is commutative if a change in the order of the numbers does not change the results. This means the numbers can be swapped.

Numbers can be added in any order.

For example:	4 + 5 = 5 + 4
	x + y = y + x

Numbers can be multiplied in any order.

For example:	5 × 3 = 3 × 5
	a × b = b × a

Numbers that are subtracted are NOT commutative.

For example:	4 – 5 ≠ 5 – 4
	x – y ≠ y –x

Numbers that are divided are NOT commutative.

For example:	4 ÷ 5 ≠ 5 ÷ 4
	x ÷ y ≠ y ÷ x

The following videos explain more about the commutative property of addition and multiplication.

Summary of Number Properties

The following table summarizes which number properties are applicable to the different operations:

Number Properties	×	÷	+	–
Commutative	Yes	No	Yes	No
Associative	Yes	No	Yes	No
Distributive	Yes	No	No	No

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