minimal entity page

distributive property

[distributive property|distributive property] states that the product of a factor times a sum is the sum of the factor times each term in the sum.

Definition

distributive property states that the product of a factor times a sum is the sum of the factor times each term in the sum.

Mechanism

distributive property The distributive property allows simplification of polynomial multiplication by multiplying terms and combining like terms in the expression.

Examples

A special case of distributive property occurs when a sum of terms is subtracted.