Combining Like Terms
Combine like terms: add the coefficients, keep the letters and their exponents unchanged
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Combine like terms: add the coefficients, keep the letters and their exponents unchanged
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The key to combining like terms is recognizing "like" first: terms with exactly the same letters and the same exponents for those letters are like terms — order does not matter. When combining, add only the coefficients; the letters and their exponents stay unchanged. Treat each term as a card, group the like ones, and the simplified result is clear.
See the terms of a polynomial as colored cards: terms are like terms only when they contain the same letters with the same exponents. Tap two like-term cards to group and combine them, watch the coefficient-adding animation, then write the simplified result.