When applying the Distributive Property, multiplication occurs with only the terms inside the parenthesis, not the other parts of the equation. To create an equivalent equation, multiply $\displaystyle{2}\cdot\frac{{b}}{{2}}\usepackage{cmbright}\Huge\$ and $\displaystyle{2}\cdot\frac{{x}}{{4}}\usepackage{cmbright}\Huge\$ .