Use a truth table to determine whether the two statements are equivalent. $(p \wedge q) \vee r$ and $p \wedge(q \vee r)$ Choose the correct answer below. The statements are not equivalent. The statements are equivalent.

Step 1 ：Let's denote: p, q, r as the variables, ∧ as the AND operator, ∨ as the OR operator.

Step 2 ：We will construct a truth table to determine whether the two statements are equivalent.

Step 3 ：The truth table is as follows: \[\begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline p & q & r & (p \land q) \lor r & p \land (q \lor r) \\ \hline T & T & T & T & T \\ T & T & F & T & T \\ T & F & T & T & T \\ T & F & F & F & F \\ F & T & T & T & T \\ F & T & F & F & F \\ F & F & T & T & T \\ F & F & F & F & F \\ \hline \end{array}\]

Step 4 ：From the truth table, we can see that for every possible combination of p, q, and r, the two statements $(p \land q) \lor r$ and $p \land (q \lor r)$ have the same truth value.

Step 5 ：\(\boxed{\text{Therefore, the two statements are equivalent.}}\)