Edit made on October 29, 2008 by ColinWright at 21:34:04
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WW
HEADERS_END
An associative operation is a binary operation where
(a * b) * c = a * (b * c)
i.e neither operation takes priority (however order is still preserved).
Examples of associative operations are: multiplication of integers and intersection of sets.
Examples of associative operations are:
* multiplication of integers
* intersection of sets.
Examples of non-associative operations are: subtraction of integers and ????
#Interesting example from a different area of maths please?#
Examples of non-associative operations are:
* subtraction of integers
* exponentiation
* averaging
* vector cross product