Vance used the associative property to find the equivalent expression of (4.5 m + StartFraction 7 Over 8 EndFraction) minus 9. His work is shown below. (4.5 m + StartFraction 7 Over 8 EndFraction) minus 9

Did Vance apply the associative property correctly? Why or why not?
Yes, the terms with variables should be written first.
Yes, the terms can be regrouped and still be equivalent.
No, the order of the terms should have been changed.
No, the addition symbol was dropped in the second expression.