Distributing Constants over Linear Expressions
Do 3 examples like the one we just did together.
1. Write your new expression here: __5(x+1)_____________
Take the right amount of copies of your expression.
How many x’s do you see? _5____
How many constants do you count? __5___
What is the solution? ___5x+5____________
2. Write your new expression here: ____4(x+2)___________
Take the right amount of copies of your expression.
How many x’s do you see? __4___
How many constants do you count? __8___
What is the solution? _____4x+8__________
3. Write your new expression here: ____7(x+5)___________
Take the right amount of copies of your expression.
How many x’s do you see? _7____
How many constants do you count? __35___
What is the solution? ___7x+35____________
4. Describe how you could re-write 4(x+2) directly without any intermediate steps.
Multiply the 4 by x to get 4x and multiply the 4 by 2 to get 8. The answer is 4x+8.
5. Describe how you could re-write any number times (x+ any number) directly without any
intermediate steps.
Multiply the constant (c) by x to get cx and multiply the c by the other number (b) to get cb. The
answer is cx+cb.