Question

How do you simplify `3b + 8 + 2b`?

Answer 1

Collect all of the like terms together.

Explanation:

In your specific case, `b` is just some number. For example if I have 6 lots of 4 in one hand and 3 lots of 4 in the other hand, I have 9 lots of four all together. The same logic applies here. How many lots of `b` do you have altogether? Remember that the 8 is a constant, which doesn't affect the `b` in any way.
The answer would be `5b+8`