Date: 08/01/97 at 18:41:29
From: Doctor Tom
Subject: Re: Basic Real Number Properties
Hello Tuesday,
To talk about these properties, you need to think not only about the
numbers themselves, but the operations you perform on them. Let's
just start with + (addition) and x (multiplication).
The operations + and x are associative. That means that if you
want to figure out what 3+4+5 is, you can start by adding 3 and 4
and then add 5 to that, or you can add 4 and 5 first, and then
add 3 to that. It's usually written like this:
(3+4)+5 = 3+(4+5)
The parentheses tell you what to do first. This is true of all
real numbers - there is nothing special about 3, 4, and 5, so you
often see it written:
(a+b)+c = a+(b+c)
where a, b, and c are any real numbers.
If you replace "+" by "x", exactly the same thing is true; you
can multiply in any order.
The other way to see why it is important to recognize that this is
a property is to look for operations that are NOT associative.
Is - (subtraction) associative? Let's check:
is (10 - 9) - 1 = 10 - (9 - 1) ?
No. On the left, we get 0 and on the right, we get 2.
Is division associative? Check some examples.
Think about the other properties in the same way. + and x
are commutative. That means a+b = b+a and a*b = b*a. Subtraction
and division are not commutative.
Closure means that if you add any two real numbers you'll get a real
number. Same if you multiply two numbers. Subtraction is closed, but
division is not. You cannot divide by zero.
The identity for addition is a number that can be added to any
other number and not change the other number. So zero is the
additive identity. Add zero to anything and it doesn't change.
Similarly, 1 is the multiplicative identity. Multiply anything
by 1 and it doesn't change.
The additive inverse of a number is something you can add to
the original number to get the additive identity. Additive
inverses always exist. The inverse of 4 is -4 since if you
add 4 and -4, you get 0, the additive identity.
All numbers but 0 have a multiplicative inverse. The inverse
of 7 is 1/7; the inverse of 92 is 1/92. But 0 has no inverse
because you can't multiply anything by zero and get 1 - you
always get zero.
Finally, the distributive law shows the interaction between
addition and multiplication. It states that:
ax(b+c) = axb + axc.
In other words, you can either add the b and c first, before
multiplying, or you can multiply a by each of b and c, and
add the results, and the final answer will be the same. The
distributive law holds for any three real numbers a, b, and c.
-Doctor Tom, The Math Forum
Date: 08/01/97 at 18:41:29From: Doctor TomSubject: Re: Basic Real Number PropertiesHello Tuesday,To talk about these properties, you need to think not only about thenumbers themselves, but the operations you perform on them. Let'sjust start with + (addition) and x (multiplication).The operations + and x are associative. That means that if youwant to figure out what 3+4+5 is, you can start by adding 3 and 4and then add 5 to that, or you can add 4 and 5 first, and thenadd 3 to that. It's usually written like this: (3+4)+5 = 3+(4+5)The parentheses tell you what to do first. This is true of allreal numbers - there is nothing special about 3, 4, and 5, so youoften see it written: (a+b)+c = a+(b+c)where a, b, and c are any real numbers.If you replace "+" by "x", exactly the same thing is true; youcan multiply in any order.The other way to see why it is important to recognize that this isa property is to look for operations that are NOT associative.Is - (subtraction) associative? Let's check:is (10 - 9) - 1 = 10 - (9 - 1) ?No. On the left, we get 0 and on the right, we get 2.Is division associative? Check some examples.Think about the other properties in the same way. + and xare commutative. That means a+b = b+a and a*b = b*a. Subtractionand division are not commutative.Closure means that if you add any two real numbers you'll get a realnumber. Same if you multiply two numbers. Subtraction is closed, butdivision is not. You cannot divide by zero.The identity for addition is a number that can be added to anyother number and not change the other number. So zero is theadditive identity. Add zero to anything and it doesn't change.Similarly, 1 is the multiplicative identity. Multiply anythingby 1 and it doesn't change.The additive inverse of a number is something you can add tothe original number to get the additive identity. Additiveinverses always exist. The inverse of 4 is -4 since if youadd 4 and -4, you get 0, the additive identity.All numbers but 0 have a multiplicative inverse. The inverseof 7 is 1/7; the inverse of 92 is 1/92. But 0 has no inversebecause you can't multiply anything by zero and get 1 - youalways get zero.Finally, the distributive law shows the interaction betweenaddition and multiplication. It states that: ax(b+c) = axb + axc.In other words, you can either add the b and c first, beforemultiplying, or you can multiply a by each of b and c, andadd the results, and the final answer will be the same. Thedistributive law holds for any three real numbers a, b, and c.-Doctor Tom, The Math Forum
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