It is not possible to use distributive property to rewrite 85+99 as a product of a whole number greater than 1 and a sum of two whole numbers
Solution:
Given that we have to find if it is possible to use the distributive property to rewrite 85 + 99 as a product of a whole number greater than 1 and a sum of two whole numbers
No, it is not possible because they do not share any common whole multiplier
The distributive property lets you multiply a sum by multiplying each addend separately and then add the products.
a(b + c) = ab + ac
But here given that, two numbers are 85 and 99
85 + 99 = 17 x 5 + 33 x 3
Here we cannot factor out a term (i.e we cannot take a common term) , since they do not share a common factor
Also,
factors of 85 = 1, 5, 17, 85
factors of 99 = 1, 3, 9, 11, 33, 99
Here we find a common factor 1 , but we cannot use it since given that we have to use a whole number greater than 1
So we cannot use distributive property to rewrite 85+99 as a product of a whole number greater than 1 and a sum of two whole numbers