The error in Aaron’s reasoning is that he is incorrectly applying the properties of addition. The correct reasoning is that the commutative property does apply for addition, meaning that the order of numbers does not change the sum.
However, both expressions he provided, –5 + 3 and –3 + 5, do not yield the same result:
- –5 + 3 = –2
- –3 + 5 = 2
So, the main problem is not about the order but rather that these two expressions yield different answers. The answer can be simplified to correcting the two sums as not yielding the same answer, rather than framing it within the context of these specific properties.
Therefore, the best choice from the given responses would be:
"The commutative property is not true for addition" – although it’s misleading, as the commutative property is indeed true for addition and the error is in his claim of their equality.
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