Distributive Property of Multiplication

The Distributive Property states that a(b + c) = ab + ac. It allows you to multiply a number by a sum by distributing the multiplication to each addend.

You can break apart 8 x 8 as (8 x 4) + (8 x 4) or (8 x 2) + (8 x 6).

90

35

You can break apart 3 x 4 as (3 x 2) + (3 x 2).

To 'break apart' means to separate a multiplication problem into smaller, easier parts that can be solved individually.

You can distribute 6 to both 2 and 3: 6 x 2 + 6 x 3 = 12 + 18 = 30.

For example, 4 x (3 + 5) = 4 x 3 + 4 x 5 = 12 + 20 = 32.

The result is 7 x (3 + 2) = 7 x 5 = 35.

You can express it as (9 x 3) + (9 x 3) = 27 + 27 = 54.