Distributive Property Definition

Video Tutorial on the Distributive Property

The distributive property is one of the most frequently used properties in math. In general, this term refers to the distributive property of multiplication which states that the

Definition :The distributive property lets you multiply a sum by multiplying each addend separately and then add the products.

OK, that definition is not really all that helpful for most people. It is easier to understand the meaning if you look at the examples below.

Consider the first example, the distributive property lets you "distribute" the 5 to both the 'x' and the '2'.

An Intuitive Example Using Arithmetic

If, for some reason, you are having trouble accepting the distributive property, look at the examples below. These 2 examples show that you can apply this property or formula to numbers as well as expressions.