It is because a/b does not necessarily equal b/a. If this were true, then a2 = b2, which implies a = +/- b, which does not have to be true.
Likewise, subtraction is not commutative, because a-b does not have to be equal to b-a. Here, subtraction is anticommutative because a-b = -(b-a).
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There is no commutative property in subtraction or division because the order of the numbers cannot be change. This means that when multiplying or adding it does not matter the order of the numbers because the answer comes out the same.
The commutative property of a binary operator states that the order of the operands does not affect the result. Thus x ^ y = y ^ x where ^ is the binary operator. Addition and multiplication of numbers are two common operators that are commutative. Subtraction and division are two common ones that are not commutative.
The commutative property of addition and the commutative property of multiplication.
Here is an example: 4/2 = 2 Commutative property is when you can move numbers around in a problem, and it wouldn't change. This is why it doesn't work in division 2/4 = 1/2 The commutative property applies to only addition and multiplication. It does not apply to division or subtraction. More examples: Addition: 2 + 3 = 3 + 2 = 5 Subtraction: 2 - 3 = -1, 3 - 2 = 1 Division: (see above) Multiplication: 3(5) = 5(3) = 15
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