The <u>algebraic expressions</u> are composed of several elements: Terms, Coefficients, Signs, Variables and Exponents. In this case we will focus on the first two.
<u>The terms</u> are composed of sign, coefficient, variable and exponent. The terms are separated from each other by the plus sign (+) or the minus sign (-).
For example, in the following expression:
2x-3x
We have two terms separated by the negative sign (-):
2x is the first term
-3x is the second term
Now, <u>the coefficients</u> are the numbers that multiply the variable. <u>Note that if this coefficient is one (1) it is omitted .</u>
For example in the following expression, the variable is x:
2x-3x+x
2 is the coefficient of x in the first term
-3 is the coefficient of x in the second term
1 is the coefficient of x in the third term, <u>but is omitted </u>
In order to understand this in a better way, see the figure attached, where the algebraic expression is composed by one term.
