The associative property states that changing the grouping of numbers being added or multiplied does not change the sum or product. It can be used to solve a problem by rearranging the numbers in a way that makes it easier to compute mentally or by hand. For example, if the problem is (4 + 3) + 2, using the associative property, we can rearrange the grouping as 4 + (3 + 2). This allows us to add 3 and 2 first, which is easier, before adding it to the 4. This simplifies the problem and makes it easier to solve mentally.
