Question

There are red, yellow, and white flowers in a garden. Tina wants to find the total number of flowers in the garden. Which of the following is not a way to calculate the total number of flowers?

• A. (White flowers + Red flowers) + Yellow flowers
• B. White flowers + (Red flowers + Yellow flowers)
• C. (White flowers + Yellow flowers) + Red flowers
• D. Red flowers + White flowers + White flowers

Answer 1

The correct option is D Red flowers + White flowers + White flowers

The commutative property states that the change in the order of numbers in an addition operation does not change the sum.

Here, there are three different types of flowers: red, yellow, and white.

So, the different ways of adding these flowers is:
(White flowers + Red flowers) + Yellow flowers
(White flowers + Yellow flowers) + Red flowers
White flowers + (Red flowers + Yellow flowers)

However, option d has no yellow flowers and hence is incorrect.