The property you're referring to is known as the Associative Property of Addition. This property states that when adding three or more numbers, the way in which the numbers are grouped does not change the sum.
In the example you provided:
\( 5 + (3 + 9) = (5 + 3) + 9 \)
Let's break it down:
- On the left side: \( 3 + 9 = 12 \), so \( 5 + 12 = 17 \).
- On the right side: \( 5 + 3 = 8 \), so \( 8 + 9 = 17 \).
Both sides equal 17, thus confirming that the associative property holds true in this case.
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