Question

How do you use the distributive property to find 20 x 12?

Answer 1

Distributive Property is often used in mental math. Its purpose is to break down numbers so that it is easier to compute. Distributive property is where you multiply the number outside the parentheses to all terms in the parentheses and then add like terms.

Here is an example:
9 X 23 can be broken down to
9 X (20 + 3) then using the distributive property:
9 X 20 + 9 X 3
180 + 27
207

20 X 12 =
20 X (10 + 2)=
20 X 10 + 20 X 2=
200 + 40=
240

Answer 2

You can break down either number to make it easier to compute.

`20 * 12`

`=> (10 + 10)(12)`

`=> (10)(12) + (10)(12)`

`=> 120 + 120`

`=> 240`

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`20 * 12`

`=> 20 (10 + 2)`

`=> 20(10) + 20(2)`

#=> 200 + 40

`=> 240`