The commutative property states that, when adding or multiplying numbers, the order in which they're added or multiplied does not matter. For example, 3 + 4 and 4 + 3 give the same result, as do 3 x 4 and 4 x 3.

The amount of flour you need is (3\(\frac{5}{8}\) - \(\frac{1}{8}\)) cups. Rewrite the quantities so they share a common denominator and subtract:

(\( \frac{29}{8} \) - \( \frac{1}{8} \)) cups
\( \frac{28}{8} \) cups
3\(\frac{1}{2}\) cups

To add or subtract terms with exponents, both the base and the exponent must be the same. In this case they are so subtract the coefficients and retain the base and exponent:

-8c⁴ - 6c⁴
(-8 - 6)c⁴
-14c⁴

First, solve for \( \left|b + 3\right| \):

\( \left|b + 3\right| \) - 5 = -7
\( \left|b + 3\right| \) = -7 + 5
\( \left|b + 3\right| \) = -2

The value inside the absolute value brackets can be either positive or negative so (b + 3) must equal - 2 or --2 for \( \left|b + 3\right| \) to equal -2:

So, b = -1 or b = -5.

The equation for this sequence is:

a_n = a_n-1 + 4(n - 1)

where n is the term's order in the sequence, a_n is the value of the term, and a_n-1 is the value of the term before a_n. This makes the next number:

a₆ = a₅ + 4(6 - 1)
a₆ = 41 + 4(5)
a₆ = 61