An expression containing variables, numbers, and operation
symbols is called an algebraic expression. is an
example of an algebraic expression.
Each expression is made up of terms. A term can be a signed
number, a variable, or a constant multiplied by a variable or
variables. Each term in an algebraic expression is separated by
a 1 sign or 2 sign. In , the terms are: 5x, 3y, and 8.
When a term is made up of a constant multiplied by a variable
or variables, that constant is called a coefficient. In the term
5x, the coefficient is 5.
In some terms, the variables will have exponents, such as .
This exponent determines the degree of that term.
• The degree of is 2. The degree of is 3.
• If the variable does not have an exponent, the degree is 1.
For instance, the degree of 8x is 1.
• If a term has more than one variable, the degree is equal to
the sum of the exponents of all its variables. The degree of
is 6.
• If a term does not contain any variable, the degree is 0. For
instance, the degree of 9 is 0.
Terms in which the same variable is raised to the same
exponent are called like terms. and are like terms.
We know an algebraic expression is a collection or combination of constant and variables of one or more terms, which are separated by the fundamental operations (+, –, × and ÷).
Some of the examples of algebraic expression are 7b + 5m, 5x + 3y + 10, 5x/y + 3, x + y + z, etc.