Asquare painting is surrounded by a frame. the outside edges of the frame are x inches in length and there is a 2-inch border between the painting and the frame. what is the total area of the border?

To get the area of the border we proceed as follows;
Area=length*width
area of the frame=x*x=x^2
length of the painting=(x-2) inches
width of the frame=(x-2) inches
area=(x-2)(x-2)=x^2-2x+4
the area of the border will be:
Area=(frame area)-(area of the paint)
Area=x^2-(x^2-2x+4)
Area=(2x-4) in^2

the answer is (2x-4) in^2

What do you mean by that?