The next step is to identify which, if any, terms can be combined. Remember, only like terms — constant terms or terms with the same variable — can be combined.
- a - 2b + 4a + 8b - 2a - 4b
In this case, we have three a-terms and three b-terms. Both the a-terms and the b-terms can be combined, so to simplify the expression we will rearrange it according to the Commutative Property of Addition and then combine like terms.
