Which statement describes the identity property of addition?

Which statement describes the identity property of addition?

• A. the product of any number and zero equals zero
• B. any number + 0 equals itself
• C. the sum of a number and itself equals twice the number
• D. any number x 1 equals itself

Answer: (B)

Zero acts as the identity element for addition: adding zero to any number leaves that number unchanged. For any number n, n + 0 = n. This is exactly what the statement describes. The other options relate to different ideas: multiplying by zero gives zero, multiplying by one gives the multiplicative identity, and a + a = 2a expresses doubling, not the identity property.

Zero acts as the identity element for addition: adding zero to any number leaves that number unchanged. For any number n, n + 0 = n. This is exactly what the statement describes. The other options relate to different ideas: multiplying by zero gives zero, multiplying by one gives the multiplicative identity, and a + a = 2a expresses doubling, not the identity property.