What a term is built from
Add the four dates in a 2 by 2 calendar square. If a is the top-left date, the sum is 4a + 16. It has two terms — the pieces that are added. The term 4a has two parts.
5a², written whole. Step 1 of 4
- Term:
5a², written whole. - Split it: coefficient
5, letter parta². - A bare letter hides a
1:a=1 × a. - A minus belongs to the number:
−4bhas coefficient−4.
Coefficient — the number part of a term. The letters of the term are its letter part.
Rule: every term has a coefficient. A term with letters also has a letter part. A bare letter, one with no number, has coefficient 1. A minus sign in front belongs to the number, not the letters.
Because −4b means −4 × b, the minus goes with the 4.
| Term | Coefficient | Letter part |
|---|---|---|
5a² | 5 | a² |
a | 1 | a |
−4b | −4 | b |
12 | 12 | none |
A puzzle gives 50k + 20 + n. The coefficient of k is 50. The coefficient of n is 1.
Slide the chip to the coefficient of each term.
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