Question

eight times the sum of a and b

Answer 1

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Answer 2

The sum of a and b is a + b.
8 times the sum of a and b is 8 * (a + b).
In math, when two quantities are being multiplied, you can skip the multiplication symbol, so
8 * (a + b) can be written as
8(a + b)

The parentheses are needed. If you were to write this without parentheses, as
8a + b or 8 * a + b, that means multiply 8 by a and then add b.
That is not the same as adding a and b first and then multiplying by 8.