Which property allows changing the order of numbers in addition without changing the sum?

• A. Commutative Property of Addition
• B. Associative Property of Addition
• C. Distributive Property
• D. Identity Property

Answer: (A)

Changing the order of addends without changing the sum is the commutative property of addition. This property tells us that a + b = b + a for any numbers, so you can switch the order around and still get the same total. For example, 7 + 2 + 5 equals 2 + 7 + 5, and both add up to 14.

Other properties describe different ideas: the associative property deals with regrouping (a + b) + c = a + (b + c) rather than reordering; the distributive property connects multiplication to addition (a(b + c) = ab + ac); and the identity property says adding zero leaves a number unchanged (a + 0 = a). The question focuses on whether changing the order affects the sum, which is exactly what the commutative property covers.