How to read correctly this statement (associative law)

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the correct interpretation of the associative law in mathematics, specifically the statement "a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c." The consensus is that the proper way to articulate this statement is "a plus the sum of b and c is equal to the sum of a and b plus c." This phrasing accurately reflects the associative property, which allows for the rearrangement of parentheses without changing the outcome. Participants agree that while both interpretations convey the same result, the first explicitly highlights the associative nature of the operation.

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tomas_xc
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I'm not a native speaker of English and I was reading a Calculus's book and I didn't know the correct way to read a statement about real numbers. This is the statement:

"a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c"

Is it "a plus the sum of b and c is equal to the sum of a and b plus c"?
Or is it just "a plus b plus c is equal to a plus b plus c"?

I just think the second one inappropriate because it doesn't tell the associative law at all.

So, can anybody tell me the correct way?
Thanks!
 
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The first one is exactly what it's saying.
 
Office_Shredder said:
The first one is exactly what it's saying.

Thank you! You really helped me.
 
the first implies the second. once you have an associative operation, you always drop such parentheses to save effort.
 

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