The Distributive Property

The distributive property says $a(b + c) = ab + ac$. You multiply the outside term by each term inside the parentheses.

For example, $3(x + 4) = 3x + 12$. You distribute the $3$ to both $x$ and $4$.

This works with subtraction too: $5(2n - 3) = 10n - 15$. Each term inside gets multiplied by $5$. You'll use this constantly when simplifying algorithm complexity expressions.