Exploring the Distributive Property with Word Problems

1. Sarah has 4 packs of stickers. Each pack contains 6 stickers. How many stickers does she have in total? (Use the distributive property to explain your answer.)

• 24

• 12

• 30

• 18

2. A farmer has 3 fields. Each field has 5 rows of apple trees, and each row has 4 trees. How many apple trees are there in total? (Show your work using the distributive property.)

• 40

• 50

• 70

• 60

3. Tom is making gift bags for a party. He wants to put 2 candies in each of the 7 bags. How many candies does he need? (Explain your reasoning using the distributive property.)

• 14

• 12

• 16

• 10

4. There are 5 boxes of crayons. Each box has 8 crayons. How many crayons are there altogether? (Use the distributive property to solve.)

• 32

• 24

• 40

• 48

5. A teacher has 6 groups of students. Each group has 4 desks. How many desks are there in total? (Explain your answer using the distributive property.)

• 18

• 20

• 30

• 24

6. Lisa bought 3 packs of gum. Each pack has 5 pieces of gum. How many pieces of gum does she have? (Use the distributive property to show your work.)

• 10

• 15

• 20

• 12

7. A baker made 4 trays of cookies. Each tray has 6 cookies. How many cookies did the baker make in total? (Explain your reasoning using the distributive property.)

• 30

• 24

• 12

• 18

8. There are 2 classrooms with 9 students in each. How many students are there in total? (Use the distributive property to explain your answer.)

• 45

• 36

• 18

• 27

9. A gardener plants 3 rows of flowers. Each row has 7 flowers. How many flowers are planted in total? (Show your work using the distributive property.)

• 21

• 15

• 18

• 24

10. Mark has 5 packs of cards. Each pack contains 4 cards. How many cards does he have altogether? (Explain your reasoning using the distributive property.)

• 20

• 18

• 25

• 15