Video Transcript
Simplify seven plus two 𝑥 plus 15.
By looking closely at this expression, we can recognize something. The only operation in this expression is addition. We know that the associative property of addition will tell us that changing groups of addends does not change the sum, which means I can actually group the seven and the 15 together and then add the two 𝑥, and I haven’t changed the value of the expression.
From here, I recognize that seven and 15 are like terms and we can simplify by adding them together. Seven plus 15 equals 22. There’s no like term for us to add the two 𝑥 to. We can’t simplify two 𝑥 any further, so we bring it down. And we’re left with 22 plus two 𝑥. The simplified form of our equation is 22 plus two 𝑥.
