Question

How do you simplify `2.4a^2b^2 + 3.2ab^2 - 1.3 a^2b^2`?

Answer 1

Combine like terms.

Explanation:

Two terms in an equation are like terms If they share the same variable/variables. In this case, we have `2.4a^2b^2` and `-1.3a^2b^2`. Both have the variables `a^2b^2`, so we can combine them. Let's subtract the coefficients only so the variables don't confuse us: `2.4-1.3=1.1`. We can now add the variables back in: `1.1a^2b^2`. We now have our answer, `1.1a^2b^2+3.2ab^2`.