Combining Like Terms

Combining like terms means to simplify an expression by adding or subtracting terms that have the same variable raised to the same power.

Like terms are terms in an expression that have the same variable(s) raised to the same power. For example, 3x and 5x are like terms, while 3x and 4y are not.

To identify like terms, look for terms that have the same variable(s) and exponent(s). For example, in the expression 2a + 3b + 4a, 2a and 4a are like terms.

The first step is to group the like terms together in the expression.

You would combine the like terms: (5x - 3x) + (2y + 4y) = 2x + 6y.

The result is 11d + 2e.

The like terms are 7j and 10j, and 3k and -k.

The simplified form is 7k + 2s.

Constants are treated as like terms with no variable. For example, in the expression 3 + 5 + 2x, you can combine the constants 3 and 5 to get 8 + 2x.

The simplified result is 7q + 5t.