What is the process of combining like terms?

What is the process of combining like terms?

• A. Multiply all coefficients.
• B. Subtract terms with different variables.
• C. Factor out the greatest common factor.
• D. Add up all terms that have the same variable and exponent.

Answer: (D)

Combining like terms means adding the coefficients of terms that share the same variable raised to the same power. So you group terms with the same variable and exponent and sum their numbers. For example, 3x and 5x become 8x, and 2x^2 + 7x^2 becomes 9x^2. If terms have different variables or different exponents, they aren’t like terms and can’t be combined. This is different from factoring out a common factor or multiplying coefficients, which are separate operations. So the process is to add up all terms that have the same variable and exponent.

Combining like terms means adding the coefficients of terms that share the same variable raised to the same power. So you group terms with the same variable and exponent and sum their numbers. For example, 3x and 5x become 8x, and 2x^2 + 7x^2 becomes 9x^2. If terms have different variables or different exponents, they aren’t like terms and can’t be combined. This is different from factoring out a common factor or multiplying coefficients, which are separate operations. So the process is to add up all terms that have the same variable and exponent.