To make this easier to read, I'll be substituting 1/2 for .5; they mean the same thing, but it's less confusing to type it in its decimal form. 7x + .5 + 6x - 9.5 Combine like terms (x's can be added together, and so can reg. numbers) (7x + 6x) + (.5 - 9.5) 13x - 9