Final answer:
The distributive property law is introduced before the discussion on collecting like terms in algebra because it provides a foundational concept for simplifying expressions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The distributive property law was introduced before the discussion on collecting like terms in algebra because it provides a foundational concept for simplifying expressions and solving equations.
By applying the distributive property, we can simplify expressions by distributing a number or variable to each term inside parentheses. This allows us to combine like terms and simplify the expression further.
For example, consider the expression 3(x + 2). We apply the distributive property by multiplying 3 to both x and 2, resulting in 3x + 6. Now, we can collect like terms, if any, and further simplify the expression.