Question

A certain missing number will result in the expression 20 + 24 when using the Distributive Property. What number must be multiplied by ( 5 + 6 ) to result in the expression: 20 + 24

Answer 1

4

Explanation:

You want to know what number, multiplied by (5 +6), gives 20 +24.

Distributive property

For some number 'a', you want ...

a(5 +6) = (20 +24)

We can solve for 'a' in the usual way.

11a = 44 . . . . simplify

a = 44/11 = 4 . . . . divide by the coefficient of 'a'

The missing number is 4: 4(5 +6) = 20 +24.

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Additional comment

You can also look at it term by term:

5a = 20 ⇒ a = 4

6a = 24 ⇒ a = 4 . . . . the same factor, as you want it to be