Question

Which of the following statements shows the distributive property?

1. 5(4 - 2) = 9 - 7
2. 5+ (4 - 2) = 20 - 10
3. 5(4 - 2) = 20 - 10
4. 5 + (4 - 2) = 9 + 3​

Answer 1

Option 3 (5(4 - 2) = 20 - 10) shows the distributive property by multiplying 5 with each term in the parentheses separately and then subtracting the two products.

Step-by-step explanation:

The distributive property in mathematics allows you to multiply a single term by each of the terms within a parenthesis and then perform the addition or subtraction. It is represented by the formula a(b + c) = ab + ac or a(b - c) = ab - ac. Looking at the given options, the one that represents the distributive property is:

3. 5(4 - 2) = 20 - 10

To illustrate, you multiply 5 by both 4 and 2 separately: 5 * 4 = 20 and 5 * 2 = 10, and then you subtract the second product from the first: 20 - 10.