Combining Like Terms Worksheets

There are five sets of simplifying expressions worksheets:

• Simplify Expressions (Add, Subtract Like Terms)
  
• Simplify Expressions (Multiply, Divide)
  
• Simplify Expressions (Distributive Property)
  
• Simplify Expressions (Combine Like Terms)
  
• Simplify Expressions (Distributive Property & Combine Like Terms)
  

Examples, solutions, videos, and worksheets to help Grade 6 and Grade 7 students learn how to simplify an expression by combining like terms.

How to use the combining like terms to simplify an expression?

There are three sets of using combining like terms to simplify an expression worksheets.

• Simplify Expressions by Combining Like Terms (One Variable)
• Simplify Expressions by Combining Like Terms (Two Variables)
• Simplify Expressions by Combining Like Terms (Include Distributive Property)

Combining like terms is a technique used in algebra to simplify expressions by grouping together terms that have the same variables raised to the same power. When you combine like terms, you add or subtract their coefficients to create a simplified expression.

Steps on how to use combine like terms:

1. Identify like terms
   Look at the expression you want to simplify and identify terms that have the same variables raised to the same power. For example, consider the expression:
   3x + 2y - 5x + 4y
   In this expression, 3x and -5x are like terms because they both have the variable x raised to the first power, and 2y and 4y are like terms because they both have the variable y raised to the first power.
   
2. Group like terms together Group the like terms together. You can rearrange the terms in any order you like, but it’s common to write them in a standard form, with variables in alphabetical order. So, for the example expression:
   3x - 5x + 2y + 4y
   
3. Combine coefficients
   Now, combine the coefficients of the like terms. For each variable, add or subtract the coefficients. In this example:
   (3 - 5)x + (2 + 4)y
   
4. Perform the arithmetic
   Perform the arithmetic for each variable. In this case:
   -2x + 6y
   

Note that when combining like terms, only terms with the same variables raised to the same power can be combined. Terms with different variables or different powers cannot be combined.

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