Distributive Property Algebraic Equations
The distributive property is easy to remember if you recall that multiplication distributes over addition.
Distributive property algebraic equations. It seems pretty easy to learn all of these skills in isolation but using them together to solve one problem is the key in algebra 1. The distributive property is sometimes called the distributive law of multiplication and division. We can then combine like terms and solve by equivalent equations when necessary.
A visual representation of the distributive property this is a model of what the algebraic expression 2 x 4 looks like using algebra tiles. To solve algebra equations using the distributive property we need to distribute or multiply the number with each term in the expression. Instead the distributive property can be used to multiply 3 x and 3 5 to get 3x 15.
The distributive property is a handy math rule that says when you are multiplying a term by. Take for instance the equation a b c which also can be written as ab ac because the distributive property dictates that a which is outside the parenthetical must be multiplied by both b and c. In that way the brackets are removed.
Using the distributive property when solving equations now is your chance to learn how to use the distributive property and combining like terms in order to solve more complex equations. In numbers this means for example that 2 3 4 2 3 2 4. The distributive property lets you multiply a sum by multiplying each addend separately and then add the products.
The problem 2 x 4 means that you multiply the quantity x 4 by 2. Evaluate expressions using the distributive property. The distributive property is one of the most frequently used properties in math.
Remember to apply the following rules for sign multiplication when necessary. The distributive property also can be used to simplify algebraic equations by eliminating the parenthetical portion of the equation. In the examples below we will practice evaluating some of the expressions from previous examples.
Formally they write this property as a b c ab ac. You could also say that you add x 4 2 times which is the way it is shown in the model. In algebra the distributive property becomes useful in cases where one cannot easily add the other factor before multiplying.
For example in the expression 3 x 5 x 5 cannot be added without knowing the value of x. You should be able to utilize the distributive property when solving algebraic expressions that. Some students need to be convinced that the distributive property always works.
In part 1 we will evaluate the form with parentheses and in part 2 we will evaluate the form we got after distributing.
