why is x+2 different from 2x?

My aswer: doesn't both of them mean the same thing.

If x was 5

x+2=7

2x=10

The expressions "x+2" and "2x" are not the same thing and they do not mean the same thing because they represent different mathematical operations.

Let's break it down:

1. "x+2": This expression represents adding 2 to the value of x. For example, if x is equal to 5, then "x+2" would be equal to 5 + 2 = 7. Here, we are taking the value of x and adding 2 to it.

2. "2x": This expression represents multiplying the value of x by 2. Again, if x is equal to 5, then "2x" would be equal to 2 * 5 = 10. Here, we are taking the value of x and multiplying it by 2.

So, as you can see, the expressions have different operations associated with them. In "x+2", we are adding 2 to the value of x, while in "2x", we are multiplying x by 2. Therefore, they result in different values when x takes on different values.