associative law

views updated May 23 2018

associative law Rule of combination in mathematics, in which the result of two or more operations on terms does not depend on the way in which they are grouped. Thus, normal addition and multiplication of numbers follows the associative law, since a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c, and a × (b × c) = (a × b) × c.

associative law

views updated Jun 11 2018

associative law See associative operation.

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associative law

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