To use the distributive property to simplify 4 x 3, you can think of the multiplication as distributing 4 across a sum that equals 3. One way to represent 3 is as (2 + 1). So, you can rewrite the expression like this:
4 x 3 = 4 x (2 + 1)
Next, according to the distributive property, you can distribute 4 to both terms inside the parentheses:
4 x (2 + 1) = (4 x 2) + (4 x 1)
Now, calculate each part:
(4 x 2) + (4 x 1) = 8 + 4
Finally, add those results together:
8 + 4 = 12
So, by using the distributive property, we find that 4 x 3 equals 12. This method can simplify multiplication by breaking it down into easier, smaller parts.