Question

Amy and Ben count the total number of balls in the first, second, and third bag.
Amy counts it as (22 + 33) + 44.
Ben counts it as 22 + (33 + 44).

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

• A. To find the total number of balls, Ben would add 33 and 44 first.
• B. Both Amy and Ben would count the same number of balls in total.
• C. Both Amy and Ben would count different numbers of balls in total.
• D. To find the total number of balls, Amy would add 22 and 33 first.

Answer 1

The correct option is C Both Amy and Ben would count different numbers of balls in total.

Given, Amy counts the total number of balls as (22 + 33) + 44.
Step 1: 22 + 33 = 55
Step 2: 55 + 44 = 99

Ben counts the total number of balls as 22 + (33 + 44).
Step 1: 33 + 44 = 77
Step 2: 77 + 22 = 99

According to the associative property of addition, the sum of the addends remains the same regardless of how the addends are grouped.
So,
(22 + 33) + 44 = 22 + (33 + 44)

So, both Amy and Ben would count the same number of balls in total.