Combining Like TermsOnly terms with identical variable parts can be added together.6th GradeLike terms have exactly the same variable raised toexactly the same power. Add their coefficients; thevariable part never changes.5x + 3x = 8x5x + 3x8xSame variable, same power.5x + 3y5x + 3yDifferent variables — nothing to combine.4x² + 2x4x² + 2xSame letter, different power. Not like terms.7a − 2a + 55a + 5Combine the a terms; the constant stays separate.THE COMMON MISTAKE✗ 4x² + 2x = 6x³✓ 4x² + 2x cannot be combinedAdding terms never multiplies the variables or adds the powers.Think of x and x² as different units, like metres and square metres. Youcannot add them.Combining Like Termslearnposters.com
Combining Like Terms — printable math wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

What’s on the Combining Like Terms poster

The rule, 4 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes.

Think of x and x² as different units, like metres and square metres. You cannot add them.

Questions about the Combining Like Terms poster

What’s on the Combining Like Terms poster?
The rule, 4 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes. Like terms have exactly the same variable raised to exactly the same power. Add their…; 5x + 3x = 8x; 5x + 3y = 5x + 3y; 4x² + 2x = 4x² + 2x; 7a − 2a + 5 = 5a + 5; Common mistake: 4x² + 2x = 6x³ → 4x² + 2x cannot be combined. Think of x and x² as different units, like metres and square metres. You cannot add them.
Who is the Combining Like Terms poster for?
Combining Like Terms is filed under 6th Grade (ages 11–12), so it matches what that year asks a child to remember. It is equally useful to an older student revisiting math, and to the parent or teacher answering the question at the kitchen table.
When should you use the Combining Like Terms poster?
Underline matching terms in the same colour before combining anything. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Combining Like Terms belongs on the wall where that math work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Combining Like Terms?
The Distributive Property, Inequalities and One-Step Equations sit alongside Combining Like Terms in the 6th Grade set. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.The Distributive PropertyInequalitiesOne-Step Equations
Is the Combining Like Terms poster free to download and print?
Yes. Combining Like Terms downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the 6th Grade set. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Combining Like Terms poster print at?
Combining Like Terms is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Combining Like Terms loses nothing.Printing guide

Related posters

Charts that sit alongside Combining Like Terms on the same wall.

Browse every 6th Grade poster, or start from the full catalogue.