like terms
Like terms are terms in algebraic expressions that have the same variables raised to the same powers
Like terms are terms in algebraic expressions that have the same variables raised to the same powers. These terms can be combined or simplified together.
To understand like terms, let’s consider an example. Suppose we have the expression:
3x^2 + 5x + 2x^2 – 4
Here, the terms 3x^2 and 2x^2 are like terms because they have the same variable (x) raised to the same power (2). Similarly, the terms 5x and 2x are also like terms because they have the same variable (x) raised to the power of 1.
On the other hand, the constant term -4 does not have any variable associated with it, so it is not a like term with any of the other terms.
To combine or simplify like terms, we can add or subtract their coefficients. In our example, we can combine the like terms:
(3x^2 + 2x^2) + (5x) + (-4)
This simplifies to:
5x^2 + 5x – 4
So, the original expression can be simplified to 5x^2 + 5x – 4 by combining the like terms.
Remember, like terms have the same variables raised to the same powers. It is important to identify like terms when simplifying expressions or solving equations to perform accurate calculations.
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