I need help simplifying!

If I have (2^k - 1) + 2^k, how can this be simplified?

Thanks in advance.

Note: The ^ sign means "elevated to"

Do you mean 2^(k - 1) + 2^k?

It is not.

OK, in that case, why are there parenthese? This could just be rewritten:
2^k + 2^k - 1, which could be rewritten:
2(2^k) - 1, which could be rewritten:
(2^(k + 1)) - 1

That makes so much sense. Thank you very much. You surely are talented at this!

Thanks, however, I'm not sure why that works. I just recognized it because it involves powers of 2, and I am a programmer, so I have seen that a lot.

x^a * x^b = x^a+b

In this case:
2¹ * 2^k = 2^1+k = 2^k+1