<PRE><B>Question 1152208</B>
&lt;br&gt;
This is not an equation; it is an expression.&lt;br&gt;
Given an equation like&lt;br&gt;
(1/2)x = 5&lt;br&gt;
you can multiply BOTH SIDES OF THE EQUATION by 2 and get an equivalent equation&lt;br&gt;
x = 10&lt;br&gt;
But when you multiply AN EXPRESSION by 2, the resulting expression is no longer equivalent to the original.&lt;br&gt;
And, by the way, if you multiply the whole expression by 2, the last part is &quot;-10&quot;, not &quot;-5&quot;.&lt;br&gt;
Since this is an expression instead of an equation, you can&#39;t multiply everything by 2.  Just combine like terms.&lt;br&gt;
(1/2)x plus (7/2) x is (8/2)x, or 4x; (3) plus (-5) is -2.  So the simplified expression is 4x-2.&lt;br&gt;
</PRE>