Checking and securing understanding of the distributive law with algebraic terms
I can use the distributive law to multiply an expression by a term.
Checking and securing understanding of the distributive law with algebraic terms
I can use the distributive law to multiply an expression by a term.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The distributive law can be understood using an area model.
- The distributive law can help us multiply an expression by a term.
- The expression may contain any number of terms.
Common misconception
Pupils forget to multiply every term in the bracket by the term outside the bracket.
Remind pupils about the distributive law with numerical examples, e.g. 4(3 + 7) and show that this is not equivalent to 12 + 7. Using algebra tiles can also help pupils to make sense of this skill.
Keywords
Distributive law - The distributive law says that multiplying a sum is the same as multiplying each addend and summing the result.
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
$$3 \times 2x$$ -
$$6x$$
$$3 \times -2x$$ -
$$-6x$$
$$-3 \times -x$$ -
$$3x$$
$$x \times 2x$$ -
$$2x^2$$
$$-x \times 2x$$ -
$$-2x^2$$
$$-3x \times -2x$$ -
$$6x^2$$
$$-x \times -x$$ -
$$x^2$$
$$2x \times x$$ -
$$2x^2$$
$$2x \times y$$ -
$$2xy$$
$$-2y \times x$$ -
$$-2xy$$
$$x \times -y$$ -
$$-xy$$
Exit quiz
6 Questions
$$4x(x - 6)$$ -
$$4x^2 - 24x$$
$$4x(x + 6)$$ -
$$4x^2 + 24x$$
$$-4x(x - 6)$$ -
$$-4x^2 + 24x$$
$$-2x(-2x + 3)$$ -
$$4x^2 -6x$$
$$-2x(2x - 3)$$ -
$$-4x^2 + 6x$$
$$2x(2x+ 3)$$ -
$$4x^2 + 6x$$