Terms, coefficients and the conventions
Read an expression accurately first — name its terms, spot the coefficients, follow the shorthand.
An expression is a mix of letters and numbers joined by and signs, with no equals sign. Each separate part is a term, and the number multiplying the letter in a term is the coefficient.
At Stage 8 you meet terms with powers, so reading carefully matters more than ever. In there are three terms: , and . The coefficient of the first term is 5, of the second is , and is a constant term.
The conventions of algebra keep everything tidy: hide the times sign ( becomes ), put the number first (, never ), write for , write for , and use a power for a letter times itself ().
- An expression has terms but no equals sign.
- The coefficient is the number multiplying the letter.
- A term with a power, like , is read carefully as one part.
- Conventions: hide , number first, for .