What is the sum of the polynomials #3a^2b + 2a^2b^2# and #-ab^2 + a^2b^2#?

Question

4457 views around the world

You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License

Answer 1 · 2017-06-09T02:12:00

See solution process below:

Because the problem is looking for the sum of the two terms we can write the problem as:

#(3a^2b + 2a^2b^2) + (-ab^2 + a^2b^2)#

First, remove all of the terms from parenthesis. Be careful to handle the signs of each individual term correctly:

#3a^2b + 2a^2b^2 - ab^2 + a^2b^2#

Next, group like terms:

#3a^2b + 2a^2b^2 + a^2b^2 - ab^2#

Now, combine like terms:

#3a^2b + 2a^2b^2 + 1a^2b^2 - ab^2#

#3a^2b + (2 + 1)a^2b^2 - ab^2#

#3a^2b + 3a^2b^2 - ab^2#