“Sum” means the result of addition. So, in this problem, we are to find the sum of the three terms, meaning we must add all three terms together. Let’s translate the problem into an expression:
3x+2+8x
We must combine like terms, and because the three terms are adding, we can use the commutative property, which states: a+b+c=c+a+b. Essentially, we can add in any order without changing the sum:
(3x+8x)+2
We now have the like terms grouped together, so simply add them:
11x+2 is your answer