Collecting like terms

Think of collecting like terms as grouping up similar items together to make the overall expression simpler.

a + a a + b + a a + b + c + a 5 a + 20 b + 3 a = 2 a = 2 a + b = 2 a + b + c = 20 b + 8 a

If there are constants involved then you can also collect those:

5 a + 20 b + 3 a + 10 5 a + 20 b + 3 a + 10 + 2 (a 3 + 2) + (a + 5) = 20 b + 8 a + 10 = 20 b + 8 a + 12 = 4 a + 7

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