Okay, this isn't really a big question. I know how to do it, there's just one thing I have to make sure of.
The problem is:
5x+4y-11x-2y
I know I need to combine like terms, but which sign do I use to do that.
Like if I want to combine 5x and 11x, do I use the sign before the 11x (-) of the sign after 5x (+) ????
Use the sign of the larger.
5x+4y-11x-2y
-6x+2y
Ok. Thank you again! :D
To combine like terms, you need to pay attention to the signs before each term. In the given expression, 5x and -11x are both x-terms. Since 11x has a negative sign in front of it, it means it has the opposite sign compared to 5x.
To combine them, you should subtract 11x from 5x. This is because subtracting a negative number is equivalent to adding its positive counterpart. So, the expression becomes 5x - 11x.
Therefore, the correct way to combine the x-terms is:
5x + 4y - 11x - 2y
=> (5x - 11x) + 4y - 2y
=> -6x + 2y
Remember, when combining like terms, you keep the common variable (x or y) and perform the operation (addition or subtraction) between the coefficients (numbers in front of the variable).