Final answer:
The distributive property is a property of multiplication that allows us to distribute or split the operation across terms in a sum or difference, simplifying expressions involving multiple terms.
Step-by-step explanation:
The distributive property is a property of multiplication that allows us to distribute or split the operation across terms in a sum or difference. It states that when we multiply a number by a sum or difference, we can multiply each term in the sum or difference separately and then add or subtract the products. This property is often used to simplify expressions involving multiple terms.
For example, if we have the expression 3(x + 2), we can use the distributive property to simplify it as 3x + 6. Here, we multiply 3 by each term inside the parentheses (x and 2) separately and then add the products.