Simplify the expression

Question

0.5x^2+0.4x^2-0.2x^2

(Use integers or decimals for any numbers in the expression.)

Answer 1

     0.5x² + 0.4x² - 0.2x² 

Notice that all three term share a common factor, that being   x² . Factoring out   x²   from all three terms, we arrive at the following:

     x²(0.5 + 0.4 - 0.2) = x²(0.7) = 0.7x² 

Likewise, since all three terms have a common base (x²) they are like terms and can thus be combined. That is, we can simply combine the coefficients of each term and keep the common base.