Math Is Fun Forum

MargaritaMc

Member

Registered: 2013-02-11

Posts: 9

Help in remembering commutative etc needed, at kindergarten level!

I find myself getting stuck on the NAMES 'commutative', 'distributative' and 'associative' - they are introduced in the Kindergarten level at the website...

Has anyone got a mnemonic for remembering them?
Margarita

Bob

Administrator

Registered: 2010-06-20

Posts: 10,626

Re: Help in remembering commutative etc needed, at kindergarten level!

hi Margarita,

Haven't got a 'mnemonic'  as such but this is what I do:

Commutativity:

A x B = B x A etc

At rush hour  people from town A get in their cars and drive to work in town B. And people in town B get in their cars and drive to work in town A.  At the end of the day, they all swap back.  I believe that's why they are called commuters; because they swap over.

Associativity:

If you've got three numbers to multiply / add / divide etc, which ones do you associate together first?

A # B # C ? 

Is it A # B, get the answer and then do (answer # C)

Or is it B # C, get the answer and then do (A # answer).

So it's all to do with the ones you associate together first.

# is an associative operation if

(A # B) # C = A # (B # C)

Distributivy:

A # (B @ C) where # and @ are different operations you can do with 2 numbers.

So A has to be distributed to the contents of the bracket; B gets it and C gets it:

(A # B) @ ( A # C)

You are probably learning which operations are commutative, associative and distributive over another operation.

What is correct in each case is much more important than remembering the correct word, so I shouldn't worry too much about them.

Hope that helps,

Bob

Last edited by Bob (2013-02-13 00:29:09)

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Children are not defined by school ...........The Fonz
You cannot teach a man anything;  you can only help him find it within himself..........Galileo Galilei
Sometimes I deliberately make mistakes, just to test you!  …………….Bob

MargaritaMc

Member

Registered: 2013-02-11

Posts: 9

Re: Help in remembering commutative etc needed, at kindergarten level!

Thank you again, Bob. Yes, the ideas are easier than the names!
I was doing the exercises at the mathopolis link where they ask you to click on which law was in operation for a given equation. I knew what the equations were doing but I kept getting the name wrong!

Margarita

Monox D. I-Fly

Member

From: Indonesia

Registered: 2015-12-02

Posts: 2,000

Re: Help in remembering commutative etc needed, at kindergarten level!

Thank you again, Bob. Yes, the ideas are easier than the names!
I was doing the exercises at the mathopolis link where they ask you to click on which law was in operation for a given equation. I knew what the equations were doing but I kept getting the name wrong!

Margarita

Basically what I feel whenever I am learning grammar of any language. I know how to use the grammar, but have no idea what its name.

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Actually I never watch Star Wars and not interested in it anyway, but I choose a Yoda card as my avatar in honor of our great friend bobbym who has passed away.
May his adventurous soul rest in peace at heaven.