Are $a/3, b/3$ equivalent to $1/3(a), 1/3(b)$

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I have the following expression with two answers, I'm not sure if they're correct:

$1/3(a+b) = 1/3 (a) + 1/3 (b)$ can the answer be: $a/3+ b/3$ too?

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1 Answer

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Look at it this way: $$1/3(a+b)=\frac{1\cdot(a+b)}{3}.$$ We know that when we multiply anything by the number 1, nothing changes, and therefore $$1/3(a+b)=\frac{a+b}{3}=\frac{a}{3}+\frac{b}{3},$$ so you are correct.

Also, you wrote $$\frac{1}{3}(a)+\frac{1}{3}(b),$$ which can be rewritten as $$\frac{1\cdot a}{3}+\frac{1\cdot b}{3}=\frac{a}{3}+\frac{b}{3}.$$

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