Which basic operation possesses the property of commutativity?

Addition is the basic operation that possesses the property of commutativity. This means that when you add two numbers, the order in which you add them does not affect the sum. For example, if you take the numbers 3 and 5, adding them as 3 + 5 yields the same result as adding them as 5 + 3, both of which equal 8. This ability to switch the order of the operands while still achieving the same result is a fundamental characteristic of the operation.

In contrast, subtraction, division, and exponentiation do not possess this property. For instance, subtracting two numbers will generally yield different results based on the order; for example, 5 - 3 results in 2, while 3 - 5 results in -2. Similarly, division shows a difference depending on the order, as 10 ÷ 2 is 5, but 2 ÷ 10 is 0.2. Exponentiation also does not have commutativity, since 2^3 equals 8, while 3^2 equals 9. Thus, the essence of commutativity is firmly established within the context of addition.