How many terms are there in the expression 7x² + 5x – 5
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The expression 7x² + 5x – 5 contains 3 terms.
✅ Correct Answer: 3 terms
📘 Explanation
In algebra, an expression is made up of one or more terms, which are separated by plus (+) or minus (−) signs. Each term can be a number, a variable, or a combination of both (called a coefficient and variable).
Let’s break down the expression:
7x² + 5x − 5
- First Term: 7x²
- This term consists of a coefficient 7 and a variable part x².
- It’s a quadratic term because the exponent of x is 2.
- Second Term: +5x
- This is a linear term.
- It has a coefficient 5 and a variable x with an exponent of 1.
- Third Term: −5
- This is a constant term, since it has no variable.
- Constants are also considered terms.
Each of these is counted as one separate term. The signs between them (plus or minus) are what tell us the terms are distinct.
So, in total:
- 7x² → term 1
- +5x → term 2
- −5 → term 3
Thus, there are three terms in the expression.
💡 Why Understanding Terms is Important:
- Knowing the number of terms helps in simplifying, factoring, and solving equations.
- It also helps identify the type of polynomial. In this case, 7x² + 5x − 5 is a trinomial, because it has three terms (“tri” means three).
📝 Summary:
- A term is a part of an expression separated by + or − signs.
- The expression 7x² + 5x − 5 contains three terms:
- 7x²
- +5x
- −5
- So, the correct answer is: 3 terms.
