How do you prove the commutative law? - Answers

The commutative law states that the order of two elements does not affect the outcome of a binary operation. To prove this law for a specific operation, such as addition or multiplication, you can take arbitrary elements ( a ) and ( b ) and demonstrate that ( a + b = b + a ) or ( a \times b = b \times a ) through algebraic manipulation or by using properties of the operation. For example, in the case of addition of real numbers, you can show that rearranging the terms yields the same result, thus confirming the commutative property. Such proofs rely on the axioms and definitions of the number system being used.