Joshua can use place value to break up the problem 38 × 12 by expressing the numbers in terms of their place values. Here's one way to do it:
- Break down 38 into 30 and 8.
- Break down 12 into 10 and 2.
Using these breakdowns, he can set up the expression like this:
\( 38 \times 12 = (30 + 8) \times (10 + 2) \).
Then, he can use the distributive property to expand this:
\( = 30 \times 10 + 30 \times 2 + 8 \times 10 + 8 \times 2 \).
So the expression that shows how Joshua could use place value to solve the problem is:
\((30 + 8) \times (10 + 2)\).