The distributive law is a law of algebra. It tells you that when you multiply a number by a group of numbers that have been added together, you get the same result as when you calculate the products individually and then add them together:

For example,

So, multiplying \(4\) by \((2 + 3 ) = 5\) gives the same result as distributing the multiplication across the plus sign to give the products \(4 \times 2\) and \(4 \times 3\), and then adding the results together. In both cases, you get the answer \(20\).