Combining Like Terms Practice Problems
Like terms have the same letter raised to the same power. Add their numbers and keep the letter.
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Simplify.
12 problems
- 1.
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- 3.
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- 5.
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- 7.
- 8.8a + 8b − a + 9bAnswer7×a+17×b
Collect like terms
7×a+8×b+9×bCollect like terms
7×a+17×b
- 9.x² + 3x + 9x² + xAnswer10×x²+4×x
Collect like terms
10×x²+3×x+xCollect like terms
10×x²+4×x
- 10.16x + 8 + 3x − 6Answer19×x+2
Work out 16×x+8+3×x−6
16×x+2+3×xCollect like terms
19×x+2
- 11.7a + 2b − a + 16bAnswer6×a+18×b
Collect like terms
6×a+2×b+16×bCollect like terms
6×a+18×b
- 12.x² + 7x + 16x² + xAnswer17×x²+8×x
Collect like terms
17×x²+7×x+xCollect like terms
17×x²+8×x
3x and 5x are like terms, so they add to 8x. 3x and 3x² are not: the powers differ, so both stay.
Common questions
- What are like terms?
- Terms with the same letters raised to the same powers, like 4y and -2y.
- Can you combine x and x²?
- No. They are different powers of x, so they stay as two terms.
