Collecting Like Terms
Simplify algebraic expressions by collecting like terms — combine terms with the same variable and power (e.g., 3a + 2b + 5a = 8a + 2b) while maintaining equivalence
Lesson
Set out your lesson
Combine only terms with the same variable part and power, keep their signs and explain why the new expression is equivalent.
Before teaching
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Ask for the coefficient in −x and the signed terms in 3x − 2. Expect −1, and 3x with −2. Check 2 − 5: expect −3. If signed addition is unfamiliar, use a number line drawn from −6 to 6: start at 2 and move five unit steps left to −3. Practise signed whole-number sums before the full lesson; mark that support.
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Combine only terms with the same variable part and power, keep their signs and explain why the new expression is equivalent.
Combine only terms with the same variable part and power, keep their signs and explain why the new expression is equivalent.
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Learning resources
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Illustrative Mathematics · Practice link — not the full lesson
Comparisons 2
Before you open · source notes
Comparisons 2 supports collecting like terms. Not every worksheet pack.
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Before you openAsk the learner to explain one step of “Comparisons 2” in their own words.
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Source, access and review notes
Public Illustrative Mathematics task page. The .html address responds HTTP 308 to this URL. An anonymous GET of this URL on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt. Where a teacher solution is present, it is on the same page as the student task; this check did not find a separate locked student view. An adult can use the student view section and should not read a solution aloud. Advertising was not observed in the fetched HTML text; that is not a browser, device, or ad-free guarantee. This is a paper or discussion task, not an automatically marked interactive game. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. Diagrams on the page use missing or filename-only alt text, so they are not an accessible image equivalent. Accessibility still depends on an adult describing the picture.
Illustrative Mathematics. “Comparisons 2.” Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. External task; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute it.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — link only
Check understanding
- Identify like terms in an algebraic expression
- Combine like terms involving positive and negative coefficients
- Simplify expressions involving multiple variables and constant terms
“If your child sees an expression like "5a + 3b + 2a," can they simplify it by collecting the like terms to get "7a + 3b"?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Procedural
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Domain
- Algebra
- Age range
- Ages 11–13
Standards