Use the Associative Property to simplify the expression 3x+(x+2) to its simplest equivalent form.

1 answer

To simplify the expression \( 3x + (x + 2) \) using the Associative Property, we can rearrange the terms in a way that makes combining them easier:

  1. Rewrite the expression: \[ 3x + (x + 2) = 3x + x + 2 \]

  2. Apply the Associative Property: This property states that you can group the terms in any way. In our case, we can group \(3x\) and \(x\) together: \[ (3x + x) + 2 \]

  3. Combine like terms: \[ 3x + x = 4x \] So, we have: \[ 4x + 2 \]

Thus, the simplest equivalent form of the expression \( 3x + (x + 2) \) is \[ \boxed{4x + 2}. \]