Video Transcript
Remember this dot is used
interchangeably with the multiplication symbol. And so, to simplify the expression
given, we’re going to recall some of the properties of multiplication. Firstly, the associative property
of multiplication. This says that when three or more
numbers are multiplied, the product is the same, no matter how those numbers are
grouped. And so, we don’t really need the
parentheses here. It will be the same as just doing
six times 𝑥 times eight. Then, the commutative property says
that the product will be the same even if we switch the numbers around. For instance, three times four is
the same as four times three. And so, we’re going to switch the
𝑥 and the eight around and rewrite our problem as six times eight times 𝑥. And then, of course, since the
grouping doesn’t really matter, we can evaluate six times eight. Six times eight is 48, so this
becomes 48 times 𝑥. And of course, we know that we can
simply write that as 48𝑥. So, when we simplify the expression
six times eight times 𝑥, we get 48𝑥.
