The x means multiplication
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Explanation:
The distributive property in general is
A x (B + C) = A x B + A x C
We multiply the outer term A with each term inside
Then we add up those products to end up with A x B + A x C
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In this particular problem, we have the outer 9 multiply with each term inside (the 3 and 8)
So that's how (9 x 3) + (9 x 8) = 9 x (3 + 8)
I'll leave the 3+8 un-simplified so that you can get back to (9 x 3) + (9 x 8) again.
