Economic Activities: Distributive Property for Rational Numbers

Economic Activities:
Economic activities refer to the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services in an economy. These activities involve the use of resources, such as land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship, to create value and satisfy human needs and wants.

There are three main types of economic activities:

1. Primary Activities: These activities involve the extraction and utilization of natural resources. Examples include agriculture, fishing, mining, and forestry.

2. Secondary Activities: These activities involve the processing and manufacturing of raw materials into finished products. Examples include manufacturing, construction, and energy production.

3. Tertiary Activities: These activities involve the provision of services to individuals and businesses. Examples include retail, healthcare, education, transportation, and banking.

Distributive Property for Rational Numbers:
The distributive property is a mathematical property that allows us to simplify expressions involving addition and multiplication. It states that for any rational numbers a, b, and c:

a × (b + c) = (a × b) + (a × c)

This property is especially useful when dealing with expressions that involve fractions or decimals. It allows us to break down complex calculations into simpler steps, making it easier to solve mathematical problems.

Explanation of the Distributive Property for Rational Numbers:
The distributive property for rational numbers can be explained as follows:

When we have an expression in the form a × (b + c), we can distribute the multiplication to both terms inside the parentheses. This means that we multiply a by both b and c separately, and then add the results together.

For example, let's consider the expression 2/3 × (4/5 + 1/2). Using the distributive property, we can simplify it as follows:

2/3 × (4/5 + 1/2) = (2/3 × 4/5) + (2/3 × 1/2)

= (8/15) + (2/6)

= 8/15 + 1/3

= (8/15) + (5/15)

= 13/15

By using the distributive property, we were able to simplify the expression and obtain the final result of 13/15.

The distributive property is a fundamental concept in mathematics that applies to various operations and is particularly useful in simplifying calculations involving rational numbers. It helps in breaking down complex expressions into simpler components, making mathematical calculations more manageable.