Please help with this question

Question

Are the expressions (4x)^2 and 4x^2 equal in value? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

No they are not equal.  

 

4x² means I square x and then multiply by 4.  

 

(4x)² means that I multiply x by 4 and then square the entire quantity.  (4x)² = 16x²

 

Example: Let x = 5

 

(4x)² = (4*5)² = (20)² = 400 

 

4x² = 4(5)² = 4(25) = 100