Factoring and distributing exponents

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When you have an expression like:

(x + 2)^2

it actually means:

(x + 2)*(x + 2)

But how come you can't just distribute the exponent directly like:

x^2 + 2^2 = x^2 + 4

?

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$$(x+2)^2=(x+2)\times (x+2)=(x+2)\times x+(x+2)\times 2=(x^2+2x)+(2x+4)$$