Addition and Subtraction in Algebra – Simplifying Algebra

Basic Algebra in Full | Lesson 3

🧠 What You’ll Learn

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to add and subtract algebraic terms after collecting like terms — taking your simplification skills to the next level.

You’ll learn how to:

  • Combine like terms by adding their coefficients correctly
  • Apply subtraction rules confidently, including how signs affect your answers
  • Understand how positive and negative numbers behave when adding and subtracting
  • Simplify expressions step by step from start to finish
  • Work with multiple terms in one expression without getting confused
  • Move terms across an equation correctly and simplify both sides
  • Recognize when an expression is fully simplified and cannot be reduced further
Watch Full Lesson📺
Watch Try Exercises Solutions ✅

🧩Practice Exercises

These exercises help you build from foundation to advanced understanding.

You can:

  • Start at your level
  • Or work through all levels step by step

✍️ Attempt exercises before checking answers.

🎯 Levels

Each level matches a stage of learning and shows
what you should be able to understand and solve at that point.

🟢 Foundation → You’re learning this topic for the first time
🟠 Developing → You understand the basics and are building on them
⚪ Confident → You’re ready for deeper, multi-step problems
⚫ Advanced → You want to challenge your understanding further

📘 Not sure where you fit? → View Level Guide

💡 Each set of exercises is designed to match what students at that stage are typically expected to handle.

Start with your level, then try the next one when you feel ready.

  1. Simplify $3x + 5x$
  2. Simplify $7y – 2y$
  3. Simplify $-4x + 6x$
  4. Simplify $-9y + 3y$
  5. Simplify $5a + 2a – 3a$
Show Answers
  1. $8x$
  2. $5y$
  3. $2x$
  4. $-6y$
  5. $4a$

  1. Simplify $4x + 3x + 2$
  2. Simplify $6y – 10y + 5$
  3. Simplify $-3a + 7a – 4$
  4. Simplify $8x – 5x + 6 – 2$
  5. Simplify $-12y + 6y + 9$
Show Answers
  1. $7x + 2$
  2. $-4y + 5$
  3. $4a – 4$
  4. $3x + 4$
  5. $-6y + 9$

  1. Simplify $5x + 3x – 2x + 4 – 7 + 1$
  2. Simplify $-8y + 2y – 3y + 6 – 4$
  3. Simplify $7a – 9a + 5a + 10 – 6$
  4. Simplify $-6x + 4x – 3 + 8 – 2$
  5. Simplify $9m – 3m – 4m + 12 – 5 + 2$
Show Answers
  1. $6x – 2$
  2. $-9y + 2$
  3. $3a + 4$
  4. $-2x + 3$
  5. $2m + 9$

  1. Simplify $-5x – 3x + 2x + 7 – 9 + 4$
  2. Simplify $6y – 11y + 3y – 8 + 5 – 2$
  3. Simplify $4x^2y + 6x^2y – 3x^2y – 7 + 2$
  4. Simplify $-8mn + 5mn – 2mn + 10 – 6 + 1$
  5. Simplify $7x^2y – 4xy^2 + 3x^2y – 6xy^2 + 5 – 8$
Show Answers
  1.  $-6x + 2$
  2. $-2y – 5$
  3. $7x^2y – 5$
  4. $-5mn + 5$
  5. $10x^2y – 10xy^2 – 3$

🔁 Continue Learning

⏮️ Back to Basic Algebra in Full
⏭️ Next Lesson → Lesson 4: Multiplication & Division in Algebra

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