Free custom combining like terms worksheet templates - Free Printable

To solve these problems, we need to combine "like terms." Like terms are terms that have the same variable part (for example, 3x and 5x are like terms because they both have an x). We can add or subtract the numbers in front of the variables (called coefficients) when the variables are the same. If the variables are different, we cannot combine them.

Let’s go through each problem one by one:

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Problem 1: 3x + 5x + 2y

- Combine 3x and 5x → 8x
- 2y has no like term, so it stays.
→ Final: 8x + 2y

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Problem 2: 2a - 4b + 3a + b

- Combine 2a and 3a → 5a
- Combine -4b and +b → -3b
→ Final: 5a - 3b

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Problem 3: 6m + 2n - 3m + 5n

- Combine 6m and -3m → 3m
- Combine 2n and 5n → 7n
→ Final: 3m + 7n

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Problem 4: 4p - 7q - 2p + 9q

- Combine 4p and -2p → 2p
- Combine -7q and 9q → 2q
→ Final: 2p + 2q

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Problem 5: 8x + 3y - 2x - 6y

- Combine 8x and -2x → 6x
- Combine 3y and -6y → -3y
→ Final: 6x - 3y

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Problem 6: 5a + 2b - 3a + 4b

- Combine 5a and -3a → 2a
- Combine 2b and 4b → 6b
→ Final: 2a + 6b

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Problem 7: 2m - 9n + 7m + 5n

- Combine 2m and 7m → 9m
- Combine -9n and 5n → -4n
→ Final: 9m - 4n

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Problem 8: 6x + 3y - 4x - 2y

- Combine 6x and -4x → 2x
- Combine 3y and -2y → 1y (or just y)
→ Final: 2x + y

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Problem 9: 4a - 5b + 2c - 3a + 4b - c

- Combine 4a and -3a → 1a (or just a)
- Combine -5b and 4b → -1b (or just -b)
- Combine 2c and -c → 1c (or just c)
→ Final: a - b + c

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Final Answer:
8x + 2y
5a - 3b
3m + 7n
2p + 2q
6x - 3y
2a + 6b
9m - 4n
2x + y
a - b + c