The distributive property of multiplication lets you simplify expressions where in you multiply a number by a sum or difference
3×(4+5)
Step 1: First, apply the distributive property.
3×(4+5)=3×4+3×5
Step 2: Now, perform the individual multiplications.
=12+15
Step 3: Add the results.
27
3×(4+5)=27, and we see that applying the distributive property gives us the same result as directly adding
4+5 first and then multiplying.
2×(5+3)
Step 1: Distribute the 2 across both 5 and 3.
2×(5+3)=2×5+2×3
Step 2: Multiply each term:
2×5=10and2×3=6
Step 3: Add the results
10+6=16
So,
16
2×(5+3)=16.
x×(y+z)
Step 1: Apply the distributive property.
x(y+z)=x×y+x×zx×(y+z)=x×y+x×z
That’s it! Now, instead of multiplying xx by the whole expression (y+z)(y+z), you multiply xx by each term separately.