hmmmm....this question can be asked a lot of ways, but I am thinking that you are looking for something like this
12 = 10 + 2
so 12 x 10 = (10 + 2) x 10 then the distributive property says to "give" the 10 on the outside to both the 10 and the 2 on the inside
so 10 x 10 + 2 x 10 = 100 + 20 = 120