Simplifying Expressions

Front

What is the process of combining like terms in an expression?

Back

Combining like terms involves adding or subtracting coefficients of terms that have the same variable raised to the same power.

Front

What is a 'like term'?

Back

Like terms are terms that have the same variable raised to the same exponent. For example, 3x and 5x are like terms.

Front

How do you simplify the expression 4a + 9 + a?

Back

You combine like terms: 4a + a = 5a, so the simplified expression is 5a + 9.

Front

What is the simplified form of 6b + 7b - 10?

Back

Combine like terms: 6b + 7b = 13b, so the simplified expression is 13b - 10.

Front

How do you simplify the expression 7 + 3(1 - 2x)?

Back

First, distribute 3: 7 + 3 - 6x = 10 - 6x.

Front

What is the simplified form of 3x + 4 + 5x + 3?

Back

Combine like terms: 3x + 5x = 8x and 4 + 3 = 7, so the simplified expression is 8x + 7.

Front

How do you simplify the expression 9z - 21 - 3z + 10?

Back

Combine like terms: 9z - 3z = 6z and -21 + 10 = -11, so the simplified expression is 6z - 11.

Front

What is the distributive property?

Back

The distributive property states that a(b + c) = ab + ac, allowing you to multiply a single term by each term inside a parenthesis.

Front

What does it mean to 'simplify' an expression?

Back

To simplify an expression means to reduce it to its simplest form by combining like terms and eliminating unnecessary parentheses.

Front

What is the first step in simplifying an expression with parentheses?

Back

The first step is to apply the distributive property to eliminate the parentheses.