If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.

Main content

Distributive property explained

The distributive property tells us how to solve expressions in the form of a(b + c).  The distributive property is sometimes called the distributive law of multiplication and division.
Normally when we see an expression like this …
distributive property format
we just evaluate what’s in the parentheses first, then solve it:
distributive property in practice
This is following the official “order of operations” rule that we’ve learned in the past.
With the distributive property, we multiply the ‘4’ first:
distributing values
We distribute the 4 to the 8, then to the 3.
Then we need to remember to multiply first, before doing the addition!
We got the same answer, 44, with both approaches!
Why did we do it differently when we could have easily worked out what was in the brackets first? 
This is preparation for when we have variables instead of numbers inside the parentheses.
Another example before we start to use variables:
Example of the distributive property using variables:
More examples
a) 
b)
Tips
  • We usually use the distributive property because the two terms inside the parentheses can’t be added because they’re not like terms
  • Make sure you apply the outside number to all of the terms inside the parentheses/brackets
Try our stack of practice questions with useful hints and answers! Like this one:

Want to join the conversation?