Ineed right away!

write an equivalent expression for n x a using only addition.

There are two ways to do this:

Method 1: Write n x a as n+n+n+n++n where there will be 'a' copies of 'n' being added up

OR

Method 2: Write n x a as a+a+a+a+...+a now we have 'n' copies of 'a' being added up. 

Either way, you'll get the same answer

For example:

2*5 = 2+2+2+2+2 = 10
there are 5 copies of 2 added
2*5 = 5+5 = 10
there are 2 copies of 5 added
either method leads to the same answer