The expression "2 \times 1" represents a multiplication operation where the number 2 is multiplied by the number 1. In simple terms, this means you have two groups of one item each. When you calculate this, the result is 2. Multiplication is a basic arithmetic operation used to find the total number of items in equal groups. In this case, since multiplying by 1 does not change the value, "2 \times 1" equals 2. This concept is fundamental in mathematics and helps in understanding larger multiplication problems.