The first step in simplifying this expression is to identify which, if any, terms can be combined. Remember, only like terms — constant terms or terms with the same variable and the same exponent — can be combined. Let's simplify the expression first.
5x^2 + 4x - 2 + 3x^2 + 7
In this case, we have two x^2-terms, one x-term, and two constants.
Only the x^2-termsand constants can be combined, so to simplify the expression we will rearrange them according to the Commutative Property of Addition and then combine like terms.
