For all real numbers the order of the equality does not matter.

This property can be used together with other Properties of Equality to solve equations or to isolate a variable and express it in terms of another variable. $\begin{aligned} 4(3y +7) &= x+2 \\ {\color{#0000FF}{x+2}} &= {\color{#0000FF}{4(3y +7)}} \\ x &= 4(3y +7)-2 \end{aligned}$ The Symmetric Property of Equality also holds true if $a$ and $b$ are complex numbers.