what is the distributive property for 54 ÷ 3
Mathematics · Middle School · Mon Jan 18 2021
Answered on
Answer: The distributive property doesn't directly apply to division in the same way it does for multiplication. However, the concept can be thought of in a similar way. If you have a division problem like 54 ÷ 3, you can think of 54 as a sum of multiple numbers that are all divisible by 3 and then divide each of those numbers by 3 separately.
For example, 54 can be expressed as the sum of 30 and 24 (54 = 30 + 24). Both of these numbers are divisible by 3, so you can use "distribution" in the following manner:
54 ÷ 3 = (30 + 24) ÷ 3 = (30 ÷ 3) + (24 ÷ 3) = 10 + 8 = 18
So, by breaking down 54 into parts that are easier to divide, you can use the distributive-like process to divide the number into parts and then sum up the results of each division. This results in the same answer as dividing 54 directly by 3, which is 18.