Properties of Multiplication


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There are 5 major properties of multiplication



Commutative Property of Multiplication

When two numbers are multiplied together, the result is the same regardless of the order they are in.

Example:

6 x 5 = 30
5 x 6 = 30



Associative Property of Multiplication

When 3 or more numbers are multiplied together, the result is the same regardless of the way in which you group the factors.

Example:

3 x (6 x 7) = 126
(3 x 6) x 7 = 126



Multiplicative Identity Property

Any number when multiplied by 1 results in the original number.

Example:

6 x 1 = 6
45 x 1 = 45



Multiplicative Inverse Property

For any number (fraction) a/b where a ? 0 and b ? 0, there exists exactly one number b/a such that the product of a/b x b/a = 1.

Example: 

 
In this case we say that 3/2 is the multiplicative inverse of 2/3.



Distributive Property

The sum or difference of two numbers multiplied by a third number is equal to the third number multiplied by each of the two numbers followed by the addition or subtraction.

Example:

5 x (4 + 3) = 35
(5 x 4) + (5 x 3) = 35

2 x (5 - 2) = 6
(2 x 5) - (2 x 2) = 6


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