2 m 2 xh and 4 m 2 hx are like terms (same variables and exponents, just in different order). The variables can be in different orders and have different coefficients, but they all need to be there.ģ xy and -5 xy are like terms (same variables).ģ xy and -5 xym are not like terms (the second term has a variable that the first doesn't). Like terms are terms that have the same variables, including the exponents that go with those variables. We like terms, and we especially like like terms. Often represented by x.Ĭoefficient: the number that's multiplied by the variable. Since 1 times anything is just that anything, we usually don't write 1 as a coefficient, but it's always there.Įxample: x is the same thing as 1 x, and x 3 y 2 m is the same thing as 1 x 3 y 2 m. Here's the thing: they actually do have a coefficient of 1. Occasionally terms, like the last one above, seem to be missing a coefficient. Others have variables (letters that represent an unknown or changing number), and some have variables and numbers mashed together, in which case the numbers are called coefficients. These are called constants, or numbers that don't change. Since the × we used for multiplication in the past looks an awful lot like the variable x, we'll stop using a symbol for multiplication at all. The same is true for two variables next to each other: it means they're being multiplied. Some of our favorite terms include:Ī number next to a variable means that number and variable are being multiplied. Each term can be a variable, a number and a variable, or a number and many variables with or without exponents, as long as everything is being multiplied together in a single nugget of math goodness. Terms are the separate values in an expression.
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