Final answer:
The distributive property is applied by multiplying the term outside the parentheses (3x) with each term inside the parentheses (9 and 2), resulting in (3x \(\cdot\) 9) - (3x \(\cdot\) 2).
Step-by-step explanation:
To use the distributive property to fill in the blanks, you would distribute the coefficient 3x across the parentheses to each term inside the parentheses. The expression 3x (9 - 2) equals 3x times 9 minus 3x times 2, so using the distributive property, it can be written as (3x \(\cdot\) 9) - (3x \(\cdot\) 2).
Therefore, the complete equation using the distributive property is:
3x (9 - 2) = (3x \(\cdot\) 9) - (3x \(\cdot\) 2)
Essentially, you multiply the 3x by both the 9 and the 2 and then write their products separately, subtracting the second product from the first.