Question

EASY QUESTION FOR AN EASY MEDAL!


Welcome to StudyGurl14’s Study Session! (sorry for the trick heading!)
I have noticed that a lot of people ask questions regarding this topic, so I decided to dedicate a whole thread to explaining who to COMBINE LIKE TERMS AND SOLVE FOR X. :)
~StudyGurl14

Answer 1

COMBINING LIKE TERMS: Part One
When you combine like terms, you are combining adding or subtracting the coefficients of equal variables. When put like this, it sounds odd or confusing. But keep reading and hopefully I will enlighten you.
4x
In the above is called a “term”. The “4” represents the “coefficient”, and the “x” is called a “variable”.
4x + 2x
The above “expression” can be simplified into an even more condensed term. Because the coefficients both are connected to the same variable, they can be added, just like regular adding. The only difference is that you add the “x” onto the end.
4x + 2x = 6x
Easy right?
What about this expression?
4x + 2y
As you can see here, there are two different variables in this expression. This means you cannot combine these terms.

Answer 2

COMBINING LIKE TERMS: Part Two
More likely, you will come across a more complicated expression on your homework sheet that may read something like this:
Simplify the expression 3x + 1 + 2y – x + 4y + 5
In this case, you apply the same knowledge. Sometimes you may have to rearrange the expression to make it easier for you. One technique I really like is putting different shapes around the terms. Terms with same variables have the same shape around them, and terms with different variables have different shapes around them. View the image below.

*Note* You can also combine like terms with variables that have exponents. Just apply the same concept there, and remember that x-squared is a different variable than x-cubed.