When combining like terms, you should

• A. Combine coefficients of terms with the same variable and exponent.
• B. Mix terms with different variables.
• C. Discard all coefficients.
• D. Only combine constants.

Answer: (A)

Combining like terms means you only add or subtract the coefficients of terms that have the exact same variable raised to the same power. Keep the variable part the same and change only the numeric part. For example, 3x^2 and 5x^2 are like terms, so they combine to 8x^2. Likewise, 4xy and -2xy combine to 2xy. You can also combine constants by treating them as numbers without variables, such as 7 and -3 becoming 4. Terms with different variables or different exponents cannot be merged, like x^2 with x or x^3, or a constant with a variable term. This helps simplify expressions and makes solving equations easier.