Certify Teacher Math Practice Test

The expression in question, -3^0 + (a + 4), involves evaluating the commutative property, which states that the order in which two numbers are added does not change their sum.

When simplifying -3^0, we first need to compute 3^0, which equals 1, because any non-zero number raised to the power of 0 is always 1. Therefore, -3^0 simplifies to -1.

Now, examining the expression -3^0 + (a + 4) simplifies to -1 + (a + 4), which can be rearranged to express the commutative property of addition. In this sum, we can switch the order of the addends without changing the result — therefore, we can represent it as (a + 4) - 1.

The correct choice identifies that -3^0 can be rewritten within the addition operation with (a + 4), showing that the sum can be grouped or rearranged while still accurately representing the original expression.

Thus, writing the expression as -3^0 + (4 + a) does not alter its value while demonstrating the commutativity of addition. This means it maintains the essential elements of