Question 1084180
3 * (x^2 + 7) is solved using the distributive property of multiplication.


it is equal to 3 * x^2 + 3 * 7


the result is 3x^2 + 21.


the general form of the distributive property of multiplication is:


a * (b + c) equals:


a*b + a*c


it is  also (a + b) * (c + d) equals:


a*c + a*d plus:
b*c + b*d


the general concept is that each term in the multiplier operates on each term in the multiplicand exactly one time.


in a * (b+c), a is the multiplier and b is the multiplicand.


each term in the multiplier (a) multiplies each term in the multiplicand (b and c) exactly one time.


similarly, in (a + b) * (c + d), a and b in the multiplier, multiply each term (c and d) in the multiplicand, exactly one time each.