Math Doubts

Addition of Algebraic terms

A mathematical operation of adding two or more algebraic terms is called the addition of algebraic terms. It is also called as the summation of the algebraic terms.


In algebra, two or more algebraic terms are often connected each other by a plus sign. So, the algebraic terms have to be added to find the sum of them. There are two special cases for adding algebraic terms mathematically due to their classification and it is not possible to perform the addition without knowing them.

Adding the Like terms

The like algebraic terms are added directly as an algebraic term due to the property of the similarity. The like algebraic terms have the same literal coefficient and it allows them to add each other as an algebraic term.


$(1) \,\,\,$ $6a+3a = 9a$

$(2) \,\,\,$ $p^2q+5p^2q = 6p^2q$

$(3) \,\,\,$ $7xyz^3+11xyz^3 = 18xyz^3$

Adding the Unlike terms

The unlike algebraic terms cannot be added as an algebraic term due to the property of the dissimilarity. They have different literal coefficients and this reason makes the addition impossible. So, the addition of two or more unlike algebraic terms is written as an expression by simply connecting every two unlike terms by a plus sign.


$(1) \,\,\,$ $6a+3b$

$(2) \,\,\,$ $p+8p^2+7p^3+5p^4$

$(3) \,\,\,$ $4x+9y+11z$

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