Like Terms

Pronunciation: /laɪk tɜrmz/ Explain

Terms are like terms if they have the same variables with the same exponents.

Examples of like terms

Term 1	Term 2
3x2	14x2
24	77
2a2b3	12a2b3

Examples of unlike terms

Term 1	Term 2	Reason
3x2	14x	Different exponents
24	77a	Different variables
2a2b3	2a2b2	Different exponents on b

References

1. McAdams, David E.. All Math Words Dictionary, like terms. 2nd Classroom edition 20150108-4799968. pg 108. Life is a Story Problem LLC. January 8, 2015. Buy the book
2. Keigwin, H. W.. Principles of Elementary Algebra. pg 5. www.archive.org. Ginn & Company. 1886. Last Accessed 8/31/2018. http://www.archive.org/stream/principlesofelem00dupurich#page/5/mode/1up/search/like. Buy the book
3. Bettinger, Alvin K. and Englund, John A.. Algebra and Trigonometry. pp 21-22. www.archive.org. International Textbook Company. January 1963. Last Accessed 8/31/2018. http://www.archive.org/stream/algebraandtrigon033520mbp#page/n18/mode/1up. Buy the book

More Information

• McAdams, David E.. Term. allmathwords.org. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem LLC. 8/31/2018. https://www.allmathwords.org/en/t/term.html.

Cite this article as:

McAdams, David E. Like Terms. 4/24/2019. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem LLC. https://www.allmathwords.org/en/l/liketerms.html.

Image Credits

• All images and manipulatives are by David McAdams unless otherwise stated. All images by David McAdams are Copyright © Life is a Story Problem LLC and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Revision History

4/24/2019: Changed equations and expressions to new format. (McAdams, David E.)
12/21/2018: Reviewed and corrected IPA pronunication. (McAdams, David E.)
8/31/2018: Removed broken links, updated license, implemented new markup, implemented new Geogebra protocol. (McAdams, David E.)
8/7/2018: Changed vocabulary links to WORDLINK format. (McAdams, David E.)
8/21/2008: Added vocabulary link for 'variables' and added 'More Information'. (McAdams, David E.)
7/12/2007: Initial version. (McAdams, David E.)