How do you simplify #-7x^2yz + 3yzx^2 - zx^2y - 4y#?

1 Answer
Aug 18, 2016

Combine like terms.

Explanation:

Two terms in an expression or equation are like terms if they share the same common variables. In your expression, for example, the like terms are #-7x^2yz#, #3yzx^2# and #-zx^2y#. Even though there is a difference in the order the variables are listed, the two terms have the same variables, so they are like terms.

Let's solve this by making another expression:

#-7x^2yz+3x^2yz=-4x^2yz-x^2yz=-5x^2yz#

Let's now plug our answer back into our expression to get our answer:

#-5x^2yz-4y#