Which statement shows the commutative property with numbers?

Which statement shows the commutative property with numbers?

• A. 7 + (4 + 2) = (7 + 4) + 2
• B. 7 + 4 = 4 + 7
• C. 7(4) + 2
• D. 3(2 + 5) = 3*2 + 3*5

Answer: (B)

The commutative property for addition means you can switch the order of the addends and still get the same sum. For 7 and 4, 7 + 4 equals 11, and 4 + 7 also equals 11, so the two forms are equal regardless of order. That’s exactly what this statement shows. The other options illustrate different ideas: changing how terms are grouped (associativity), multiplying a sum (distributive property), or simply writing a product with addition without illustrating a property. The essential idea here is that the order of addends doesn’t affect the result.

The commutative property for addition means you can switch the order of the addends and still get the same sum. For 7 and 4, 7 + 4 equals 11, and 4 + 7 also equals 11, so the two forms are equal regardless of order. That’s exactly what this statement shows. The other options illustrate different ideas: changing how terms are grouped (associativity), multiplying a sum (distributive property), or simply writing a product with addition without illustrating a property. The essential idea here is that the order of addends doesn’t affect the result.