How do you combine like terms?

Question

I need an examples on how you show your work

Answer 1

Here's some good websites that explain how to do it, how to know which terms are like terms, how to show the work (the steps in between), etc. The graphics are a lot better than anything we can do here, and you know a picture is worth a thousand words. Check 'em out ...
http://www.math.com/school/subject2/lessons/S2U2L4GL.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/20991/alg2/polyf.html
http://www.wtamu.edu/academic/anns/mps/math/mathlab/beg_algebra/beg_alg_tut11_simp.htm
http://www.algebrasolver.com/algebra-software.shtml
http://www.mathleague.com/help/algebra/algebra.htm

Answer 2

some examples wud be x + 5x = 12.
u add the 5 and the invisible 1 wit the x 6x = 12
then i wud divide both sides by 6 so it wud be x = 2

Answer 3

6b + 2a + 34 + 2a + 5b + 9

Now let's look at this expression and see what terms are alike:
6b + 5b
2a + 2a
and
34 + 9

Now all we do is combine them by adding (or subtracting if there is a minus sign) them together.
6b + 5b = 11b
2a + 2a = 4a
34 + 9 = 43

So
6b + 2a + 34 + 2a + 5b + 9
becomes
11b + 4a + 43

Answer 4

with variables, you may only combine LIKE terms:
5xe-2x+e+7x+3e-xe+1 (5xe-xe=4xe) etc.
therefore = 4xe+5x+4e+1

Notice, the 1 is not a variable (vary-able), it's a constant.
so they can't mix.

Hope that helped. :)

Answer 5

k n!
C = ---------
n k! ( n-k ) !