Groups and Geometries
Associativity is a fundamental property in mathematics that describes how the grouping of elements affects the result of an operation. Specifically, an operation is associative if changing the grouping of the operands does not change the outcome; mathematically, this means for an operation * and elements a, b, and c, the equation (a * b) * c = a * (b * c) holds true. This property is crucial in various algebraic structures as it ensures consistency and predictability when performing operations, especially in systems like groups, direct products, and rings.
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