HiSET: Math : Interpret parts of an expression

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for HiSET: Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Algebraic Concepts

Identify the terms in the following equation:

Possible Answers:

All of these

Correct answer:

All of these

Explanation:

In an equation, a term is a single number or a variable. in our equation we have the following terms:

Example Question #2 : Algebraic Concepts

How many terms are in the following expression: ?

Possible Answers:

None of the Above

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Step 1: We need to separate and arrange the terms in the jumbled expression given to us in the question..

We will separate the terms by the exponent value.

For , there is only one term: 

For , there are no terms.

For , there is two terms: 

For , there are two terms: 

For , there are two terms: 

For , there is only one term: 

For , there are two terms: 

For , there are three terms: 

There are four constant terms: 

Step 2: We will now add up the coefficients in each designation of terms. This will give us the answer.

 

Example Question #2 : Algebraic Concepts

Simplify the polynomial

.

How many terms does the simplified form have?

Possible Answers:

Five

Four

Three

Two

Six

Correct answer:

Four

Explanation:

Arrange and combine like terms (those with the same variable) as follows:

Since each term now has a different exponent for the variable, no further combining is possible. The simplified form has four terms.

Example Question #3 : Algebraic Concepts

Identify the coefficients in the following formula:

Possible Answers:

All of these

Correct answer:

All of these

Explanation:

Generally speaking, in an equation a coefficient is a constant by which a variable is multiplied. For example,  and  are coefficients in the following equation:

In our equation, the following numbers are coefficients:

Example Question #3 : Algebraic Concepts

What is the coefficient of the second highest term in the expression: ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Step 1: Rearrange the terms from highest power to lowest power. 

We will get: .

Step 2: We count the second term from starting from the left since it is the second highest term in the rearranged expression.

Step 3: Isolate the term.

The second term is 

Step 4: Find the coefficient. The coefficient of a term is considered as the number before any variables. In this case, the coefficient is .

So, the answer is .

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