If a = b and b = c, then a = c illustrates which property?

• A. Transitive Property
• B. Symmetric Property
• C. Reflexive Property
• D. Addition Property

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is the transitive property for equality. If two quantities are each equal to a third quantity, they must be equal to each other. Since a equals b and b equals c, it follows that a equals c. This is exactly the transitive property: a = b and b = c imply a = c.

To see why the other properties don’t fit: the symmetric property would say a = b implies b = a, which isn’t what’s stated. The reflexive property says every quantity equals itself, like a = a. The addition property would involve adding the same value to both sides, such as if a = b then a + k = b + k, which isn’t the given situation.