The extra set of brackets is an attempt to show that the '2' in front of the bracket is shorthand for '2 x' i.e 2(...) = (2x(...)) but that '2' is part of the

The extra set of brackets is an attempt to show that the '2' in front of the bracket is shorthand for '2 x' i.e 2(...) = (2x(...)) but that '2' is part of the whole brackets expression and should be evaluated as such. As I mentioned before, this is really a trick question, and meant to be deliberately ambiguous.