Ch 3: Distributive Property
About This Chapter
Who's It For?
Anyone who needs help learning or mastering distributive property material will benefit from the lessons in this chapter. There is no faster or easier way to learn about the distributive property. Among those who would benefit are:
- Students who have fallen behind in understanding number properties
- Students who struggle with learning disabilities or learning differences, including autism and ADHD
- Students who prefer multiple ways of learning math (visual or auditory)
- Students who have missed class time and need to catch up
- Students who need an efficient way to learn about the distributive property
- Students who struggle to understand their teachers
- Students who attend schools without extra math learning resources
How It Works:
- Find videos in this chapter that cover what you need to learn or review.
- Press play and watch the video lesson.
- Refer to the video transcripts to reinforce your learning.
- Test your understanding of each lesson with short quizzes.
- Verify you're ready by completing the Distributive Property chapter exam.
Why It Works:
- Study Efficiently: Skip what you know, review what you don't.
- Retain What You Learn: Engaging animations and real-life examples make topics easy to grasp.
- Be Ready on Test Day: Use the Distributive Property chapter exam to be prepared.
- Get Extra Support: Ask our subject-matter experts any distributive property question. They're here to help!
- Study With Flexibility: Watch videos on any web-ready device.
Students Will Review:
This chapter helps students review the concepts in a distributive property unit of a standard number properties course. Topics covered include:
- Uses of the distributive property
- Solving equations containing parentheses
- Distributing positive and negative signs as well as algebraic expressions
- Simplifying algebraic expressions
- Negative signs
- Distributive property applications to linear equations
- Using FOIL and the Area Method

1. Distributive Property: Definition, Use & Examples
After completing this lesson, you will be able to state the distributive property and apply it to various types of problems. You will also be able to accurately perform the mathematical operations that are involved with the distributive property.

2. Solving Equations Containing Parentheses
When we have parentheses in our equations it changes the way we solve them. Now we have an added step to do to remove those parentheses. Watch this video lesson to learn how it is done.

3. Distributing Positive and Negative Signs
It's not just numbers and variables that get distributed. Positive and negative signs can, too. In this lesson, we'll learn how to distribute positive and negative signs correctly.

4. Distributing Algebraic Expressions with Numbers and Variables
So, you can simplify an algebraic expression when you need to distribute a number? Great! But what if you need to distribute a variable or a variable with an exponent? Learn how in this lesson.

5. The Distributive Property and Algebraic Expressions
The order of operations is great. But sometimes we need to bend the rules to simplify an equation. Fortunately, the distributive property gives us a scenario in which this is okay. Learn all about it in this lesson.

6. Practice Simplifying Algebraic Expressions
In this lesson, we'll practice simplifying a variety of algebraic expressions. We'll use two key concepts, combining like terms and the distributive property, to help us simplify.

7. Negative Signs and Simplifying Algebraic Expressions
Don't let negative signs get you down. In this lesson, we'll stay positive as we practice simplifying algebraic expressions that have those tricky negative signs.

8. Applying the Distributive Property to Linear Equations
When it comes to linear equations, there are certain steps you have to take to solve them. One of them is the application of the distributive property when you see a pair of parentheses. Watch this video lesson to learn how.

9. Multiplying Binomials Using FOIL and the Area Method
From the distributive property, to FOIL, to the area model, to happy faces and claws, there are many different ways to learn how to multiply binomials. In this lesson, you'll learn how to use all of them and get to pick which one you like the most.
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Other Chapters
Other chapters within the Number Properties: Help & Review course