Which statement best describes like terms?

Which statement best describes like terms?

• A. They have the same variable and exponent
• B. They share a common numerical coefficient only
• C. They are constants with no variable
• D. They must be negative numbers

Answer: (A)

Like terms are terms that can be combined because they share the same variable raised to the same power. That means the variable part must be identical in both terms, including the exponent, so you can combine only the coefficients. For example, 3x and -5x are like terms—they both have the variable x to the first power—so you can add them to get -2x. Similarly, 2x^2 and -7x^2 are like terms and combine to -5x^2. Terms like x and x^2 aren’t like terms because the exponents differ, and constants such as 4 and 7 are like terms only with respect to having no variable at all. The statement that they have the same variable and exponent best describes like terms.

Like terms are terms that can be combined because they share the same variable raised to the same power. That means the variable part must be identical in both terms, including the exponent, so you can combine only the coefficients. For example, 3x and -5x are like terms—they both have the variable x to the first power—so you can add them to get -2x. Similarly, 2x^2 and -7x^2 are like terms and combine to -5x^2. Terms like x and x^2 aren’t like terms because the exponents differ, and constants such as 4 and 7 are like terms only with respect to having no variable at all. The statement that they have the same variable and exponent best describes like terms.