The distributive property says that multiplying a number by a group of terms being added together will give you the same answer as if you did all the multiplication separately.
We can use the distributive property to expand and factor expressions.
Expanding an expression is like opening an umbrella:
We multiply each term inside the parentheses ( x + 3 y + 4 ) by the outside term 2 .
Factoring an expression is like closing an umbrella:
2 x + 6 y + 8 = 2 ( x + 3 y + 4 )
We divide each term in the expression 2 x + 3 y + 8 by the greatest common factor or GCF 2 . The factored expression goes inside the parentheses, and the GCF goes on the outside.
Just like how the umbrella itself doesn’t change as it opens and closes, the value of the expression remains the same whether it’s expanded or factored.
In a mathematical expression or equation, a term can be a single number, a single variable, or numbers and variables multiplied together or divided by each other.