Addition satisfies two important properties: the commutative property and the associative property. The commutative property says thata + b = b + a
for all a and b. For example,
3 + 2 = 2 + 3
The associative property says that
(a + b) + c = a + (b + c)
for all a, b, and c. For example,
(1 + 2) + 3 = 1 + (2 + 3)