How do you write (w+5)+(-4) using the associative property

Question

How do you rewrite this equation (w+5)+(-4) using the associative property

How do you simplify this equation (w+5)+(-4)

Answer 1

The associative property just means "to group."  When adding with a variable, you can group terms together and rearrange them without changing the final sum of the equation.  (It's the same as saying 2+3+5=10.  2+3+5=10, 3+5+2=10, 5+2+3=10, etc.)

 

So, (w+5)+(-4) can be rewritten as 4-(w+5), (-4)+(w+5), (w+5)-4, or (w-4)+5.  When you combine like-terms, this simplifies to w+1.