This tutorial will be able to show you how to combine like terms in given polynomial, the variables, and the constants.  You will learn to combine the coefficients of the same variable as well as pay attention to the signs of coefficients, for there are different rules for different signs and same signs.

Algebra is a branch of mathematics concerning the study of structure, relation and quantity.

Together with geometry, analysis, combinatorics, and number theory, algebra is one of the main branches of mathematics. Elementary algebra is often part of the curriculum in secondary education and provides an introduction to the basic ideas of algebra, including effects of adding and multiplying numbers, the concept of variables, definition of polynomials, along with factorization and determining their roots.

Algebra is much broader than elementary algebra and can be generalized. In addition to working directly with numbers, algebra covers working with symbols, variables, and set elements. Addition and multiplication are viewed as general operations, and their precise definitions lead to structures such as groups, rings and fields.

An algebraic expression is an expression that is written using one or more variables.

Examples:

2x       x – 6       3b + 4       p + q

An equation is a mathematical statement, in symbols, that two things are the same (or equivalent). Equations are written with an equal sign. Equations are often used to state the equality of two expressions containing one or more variables.

An expression is a combination of numbers, operators, grouping symbols (such as brackets and parentheses) and/or free variables and bound variables arranged in a meaningful way which can be evaluated. Bound variables are assigned values within the expression (they are for internal use) while free variables can take on values from outside the expression.

In mathematics, a fraction is a concept of a proportional relation between an object part and the object whole. Each fraction consists of a denominator (bottom) and a numerator (top), representing (respectively) the number of equal parts that an object is divided into, and the number of those parts indicated for the particular fraction.

In mathematics, a polynomial is an expression constructed from one or more variables and constants, using the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and constant positive whole number exponents.

Polynomials are one of the most important concepts in algebra and throughout mathematics and science. They are used to form polynomial equations, which encode a wide range of problems, from elementary story problems to complicated problems in the sciences.