BECE Mathematics 2020 Paper

Concept:The distributive property connects multiplication with addition.It allows a number outside the bracket to multiply each term inside the bracket.Explanation:The given expression is $a(x+y) = ax + ay$.Here, $a$ is multiplied by both $x$ and $y$ separately, and the products are then added.This is exactly the distributive law of multiplication over addition.For example, take $a = 2$, $x = 3$, and $y = 4$.Left side: $2(3+4) = 2 \times 7 = 14$.Right side: $2 \times 3 + 2 \times 4 = 6 + 8 = 14$.Both sides are equal, which verifies the property.The associative property deals with grouping of numbers, while the commutative property deals with changing the order of numbers.Neither of these matches the given form.Answer:C. Distributive