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Operations with expressions

Operations with expressions

From the course: Test Prep: GRE

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Operations with expressions

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- [Voiceover] The first thing I want to talk about in Algebra is Operations with Expressions. So what's an expression? So let me just give you one here. Lets say I have three x-squared plus two x-squared plus x plus seven equals zero. So that's actually an equation. I'm gonna back up for a second. Lets just say I have this. This is an expression. It represents a number. The x's are unknowns and we call each part of this thing terms. Like, these are terms. These are also terms. So the terms are just parts of an expression. So, one thing I want you to know if you do have an expression, you can combine like terms. By like terms, we mean they have the same exponent to the same power. So these two guys here to the left can be combined to five x-squared. So, we can't, however, combine them with this x because it's not to the same exponent so we have to leave that x by itself. It doesn't get combined. Let me define a couple things here first, too. So, this is a variable. So is this. And then…

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