The distributive property is a rule that helps us multiply numbers. It says that multiplying a number by a sum (numbers added together) is the same as multiplying the number by each part of the sum separately and then adding those products.
Imagine you want to calculate 3 × (2 + 4). Using the distributive property, you can do it like this: (3 × 2) + (3 × 4). Both ways give you the same answer: 3 × 6 = 18, and 6 + 12 = 18.