September 8, 2009
No CommentsHow to Simplify Equations by Combining Like Terms
Description
This video provides several real world examples of combining like terms to help us visualize what we are supposed to be doing to simplify equations. Several algebraic sample problems are provided in the video.
Overview
Combining like terms is very simple. It is only done with addition and subtraction. The reason they call it combining like terms is because you only combine terms that are alike. For instance, you could not combine 2x and 2y, even though the number 2 is the same. The important part is the variables, and the variables cannot be combined. You can combine the terms 3x and 5x, because they have the same variable. Another example is with exponential value. You cannot combine the terms 2x and 3x^2 because the exponential values are not the same, which makes the variable not the same. When it is possible to combine like terms, simply add or subtract the numbers, and put that number in front of the variable. Then you have combined like terms. This can be done as many times as you like in a problem provided the variables are the same.
