Question

How do you simplify `6a + 2a`?

Answer 1

`8a`

Explanation:

A multiplication is just a short way to write a sum, in the sense that

`6a=underbrace(a+a+a+a+a+a)_{6}`, and

`2a=underbrace(a+a)_{2}`.

Now, let's add the two terms:

`6a+2a = underbrace(underbrace(a+a+a+a+a+a)_6+underbrace(a+a)_2)_8`

which means that the total is eight times `a`.