Algebra · Algebraic manipulation
Chapter 1 · 4
The idea
Simplifying expressions
Why only like terms collect, why a + a and a × a are different animals, and how the index laws drive multiplying, dividing and raising algebraic terms to powers.
A full journey — read it, play with it, work it, then earn real exam marks. Everything stays on the timeline below.
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Algebra · Algebraic manipulation
Simplifying expressions
Why only like terms collect, why a + a and a × a are different animals, and how the index laws drive multiplying, dividing and raising algebraic terms to powers.
Why it works
Every rule can be tested with numbers
A letter stands for a number — so every rule can be tested with numbers. That single idea polices all of algebra. Unsure whether "makes" ? Try : left side , right side . Not equal, so the move was illegal.Only like terms collect
: the -counts combine and the -counts combine — — but 's and 's can no more merge than a count of apples can absorb a count of bananas. The same guard stops becoming : a number term isn't an -term.Keep reading — free
The rest of the explanation, plus 2 worked examples you step through move by move.
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