Meaning & use
distributive property
The mathematical rule stating that multiplying a sum by a number equals multiplying each addend separately and adding the results.
See it in a sentence
Using the distributive property, 3 times the sum of 4 and 5 equals 3 times 4 plus 3 times 5.
Students applied the distributive property to expand the expression before simplifying it.
A note on using this word
The distributive property is usually written as a(b + c) = ab + ac and is fundamental to simplifying algebraic expressions.
Words with a similar meaning
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