Introduction to Using the Distributive Property

What you’ll learn to do: Use the distributive property in different forms to simplify expressions

Fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies on a cookie sheet

Better count these fresh-baked cookies before they disappear!

Sandy is making cookies for a bake sale to raise money for her volleyball team. She bakes three dozen chocolate chip cookies and four dozen peanut butter cookies. When she gets to the bake sale to drop off her cookies, the organizer asks her how many cookies she’s dropping off. Sandy knows that one dozen equals [latex]12[/latex] cookies, so how can she figure out the total number of cookies she baked? In this section, you’ll learn about the different ways we can calculate the total using the distributive property.

Before you get started, take this readiness quiz.

Readiness Quiz

1)

Multiply: [latex]3\left(0.25\right)[/latex].

Solution: [latex]0.75[/latex]

2)

If you missed this problem, review the following video.

3)

If you missed this problem, review this video.