Chapter 1

Section 7

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1.7 Properties of Real Numbers

1 Use the commutative properties.

2 Use the associative properties.
3 Use the identity properties.
4 Use the inverse properties.
5 Use the distributive properties.

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Properties of Real Numbers
If you were asked to fine the sum 3 + 89 + 97, you might
mentally add 3 + 97 to get 100 and then add 100 + 89 to get 189.

While the rules for the order of operations say to add from left
to right, we may change the order of the terms and group them in
any way we choose without affecting the sum.

These are examples of shortcuts that we use in everyday

mathematics. Such shortcuts are justified by the basic properties
of addition and multiplication, discussed in this section.
In these properties, a, b, and c represent real numbers.

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Objective 1

Use the commutative properties.

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Use the commutative properties.
The word commute means to go back and forth. Many people
commute to work or to school. If you travel from home to work
and follow the same route from work to home, you travel the
same distance each time.

The commutative properties say that if two numbers are

added or multiplied in any order, the result is the same.

a b  b a Addition

ab  ba Multiplication

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 Using the Commutative
EXAMPLE 1 Properties

Use a commutative property to complete each

statement.

Solution:
x  2  2  _____ x

5 x  x  ____ 5

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Objective 2

Use the associative properties.

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Use the associative properties.
When we associate one object with another, we think of those
objects as being grouped together.

The associative properties say that when we add or multiply

three numbers, we can group the first two together or the last two
together and get the same answer.

(a  b)  c  a  (b  c) Addition

(ab)c  a(bc) Multiplication

The various properties are often represented by acronyms. CPA
can represent the commutative property of addition, APM can
represent the associative property of multiplication, and so on.

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EXAMPLE 2 Using the Associative Properties

Use an associative property to complete each

statement.
Solution:
5  (2  8)  ________ (5  2)  8

10  (8)  (3)  ________ 10  (8)  (3)

By the associative properties of addition and multiplication, the sum

or product of three numbers will be the same no matter how the
numbers are “associated” in groups. So parentheses can be left
out in many problems.
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 Distinguishing between the Associative
EXAMPLE 3 and Commutative Properties

Is (2  4)6  (4  2)6 an example of the associative

property or the commutative property?

Solution:
Commutative

Note that with the commutative properties, the number sequence

changes on opposite sides of the equal sign. With the associative
properties, the number sequence is the same on either side.

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 Using the Commutative and
EXAMPLE 4 Associative Properties

Find the sum.

Solution:
43  26 17  24  6  (43  17)  (26  24)  6
 60  50  6
 116

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Objective 3

Use the identity properties.

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Use the identity properties.
If a child wears a costume on Halloween, the child’s
appearance is changed, but his or her identity is unchanged.
The identity of a real number is left unchanged when identity
properties are applied. The identity properties say:
a0  a and 0a  a Addition

a 1  a and 1 a  a Multiplication
The number 0 leaves the identity, or value, of any real
number unchanged by addition. So 0 is called the identity
element for addition, or the additive identity.
Since multiplication by 1 leaves any real number unchanged,
1 is the identity element for multiplication, or the
multiplicative identity.
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EXAMPLE 5 Using the Identity Properties

Complete each statement so that it is an example of an

identity property.
Solution:
5  ___  5 0

1 1
___   1
3 3

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 Using Identity Properties to
EXAMPLE 6 Simplify Expressions

Simplify.
Solution:
36 66 3 2 3
  
48 6 8 42 4

3 5 3 5 3 3 5 9 5
  1      
8 24 8 24 8 3 24 24 24
4 4 1
  
24 46 6
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Objective 4

Use the inverse properties.

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Us the inverse properties.
Each day before you go to work or school, you probably put
on your shoes before you leave. Before you go to sleep at night,
you probably take them off, and this leads to the same situation
that existed before you put them on. These operations from
everyday life are examples of inverse operations.

The inverse properties of addition and multiplication lead to

the additive and multiplicative identities, respectively.

a  (a )  0 and a  a  0 Addition

1 1
a   1 and  a  1 a  0) Multiplication
a a

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EXAMPLE 7 Using the Inverse Properties

Complete each statement so that it is an example of an

inverse property.
Solution:
___  6  0 6

1
  ___  1 9
9

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 Using Properties to Simplify an
EXAMPLE 8 Expression

Simplify the expression.

Solution:
1  1 1  1
 3y      3y     
2  2 2  2

 3y

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Objective 5

Use the distributive properties.

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Use the distributive property.
The everyday meaning of the word distribute is “to give out
from one to several.”
Look at the value of the following expressions:
2(5  8) , which equals 2(13), or 26
2(5)  2(8) , which equals 10  16, or 26.
Since both expressions equal 26, 2(5  8)  2(5)  2(8) .
With this property, a product can be changed to a sum or
difference. This idea is illustrated by the divided rectangle
below.

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Use the distributive property. (cont’d)
The distributive property says that multiplying a number a
by a sum of numbers gives the same result as multiplying a by b
and a by c and then adding the two products.
a(b  c)  ab  ac and (b  c)a  ba  ca
The distributive property is also valid for multiplication over
subtraction.
a(b  c)  ab  ac and (b  c)a  ba  ca
The distributive property can be extended to more than two
numbers. a(b  c  d )  ab  ac  ad

The distributive property can be used “in reverse.” For

example, we can write ac  bc  (a  b)c .
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EXAMPLE 9 Using the Distributive Property

Use the distributive property to rewrite each

expression.
Solution:
4(3  7)  4  3  4  7  12  28  40

6( x  y  z )  6 x  (6 y )  (6 z )  6 x  6 y  6 z

3a  3b  3(a  b)

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 Using the Distributive Property
EXAMPLE 10 to Remove Parentheses

Write the expression without parentheses.

Solution:
(5 y  8)  5y  8

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