• first you combine like terms • -7y and +2y are like terms because they both end with the variable "y" •which gives you -5y because a negative and a positive you subtract and keep the sign of the larger number in this case would be -7y • next you combine 5 and -3, since the numbers have opposite signs, you subtract and keep the sign of the larger number, which in this case would be 5 and the answer to +5-3 is 2.