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 algebraic expression that have the same variable(s) and exponent(s). For example, 3x and 5x are like terms.

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

The first step is to group the like terms together.

Combine like terms: (4a - 2a) + (3b + 5b) = 2a + 8b.

The result is (2x + 3x) + (4y - y) = 5x + 3y.

The like terms are 7v and 2v, and the constants 2 and 12.

The simplified form is -2x.

To combine constants, simply add or subtract the numerical values. For example, 2 + 12 = 14.

The simplified expression is 8r.