in algebra, what are like terms?

Question

could u please give examples i have an exam

Answer 1

i'm not sure but i think its like 2x 5x them are like terms and 4y 9y are also like terms

Answer 2

They are terms that are multiples of the same exact variables raised to the same powers. Like terms can be added together.

For example, 3x and 5x are "like terms", as they're both "x" times some number. The same goes with (3x/2) and 5x, since the first is just (3/2) times x. 3xy and 5xy are also "like terms", as they too have the same set of variables. But 3x and 5y are not like terms, as they have different variables.

Moving on to powers: 3z^2 (three times z squared) and 4z^2 are like terms, but 3z^2 and 4z are not. This is because the first is really "3*z*z*" and not "3*z". Also, 7(x^2)(y^3) and 99(x^2)(y^3) would be like terms, because they're multiples of the same variables to the same powers. But 7x and 7/x aren't, as the second one is really 7*(1/x), which is a multiple of 1/x and not a multiple of "x".

Hopefully with these examples you get the general idea.

Answer 3

like terms are terms that you can combine together in the equation. for example: 3x + 3y = 6 has no like terms, but in 3x + 4x = 20, you could combine the 3x and the 4x to make 7x. watch out for squares and cubes when doing this because x^2 is not the same as x^3 or x and so cannot be combined. long story short, like terms are the terms in the equation that are like each other

Answer 4

Say you have 2x + 5t - 6y = 12t - 4k + 2x +6y
The like terms are the terms [variables, numbers] that are the same, so 2x and 2x and like terms because they both have an x as a variable. 5t and 12t are like terms because they both have t as a variable.

Answer 5

like terms are coefficients with the same variable

Answer 6

similar in a way taht is lkie 2x 5x like abvoe. however, 2x^5 and 5x^2 is not.