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Use the Associative Property of Addition to simplify the following expression:

[tex]\[ 24 + 18 + (-9) + (-12) \][/tex]

A. 63
B. 11
C. -21
D. 21


Sagot :

Sure, let's use the Associative Property of Addition to simplify the given expression step-by-step:

Given expression:
[tex]\[ 24 + 18 + (-9) + (-12) \][/tex]

Step 1: Grouping the numbers in pairs to simplify. We can rearrange the addition to make it easier to handle:

[tex]\[ (24 + 18) + ((-9) + (-12)) \][/tex]

Step 2: Add the numbers within each group:

[tex]\[ 24 + 18 = 42 \][/tex]

and

[tex]\[ (-9) + (-12) = -21 \][/tex]

Step 3: Now, add the results from each of the groups together:

[tex]\[ 42 + (-21) \][/tex]

Step 4: Finally, perform the addition:

[tex]\[ 42 + (-21) = 21 \][/tex]

So, the simplified result of the expression [tex]\( 24 + 18 + (-9) + (-12) \)[/tex] is [tex]\( 21 \)[/tex].