Arithmetic Expressions
Terms in an expression
Learn how terms give meaning to an expression that has no brackets.
What about 30 + 5 × 4 with no brackets at all? It still has a meaning, thanks to terms.
Terms are the parts of an expression separated by + signs. In 12 + 7 the terms are 12 and 7.
But 83 − 14 has no + sign! Remember: subtracting a number is the same as adding its inverse (the same number with the opposite sign). The inverse of 14 is −14, and the inverse of −14 is 14. So 83 − 14 = 83 + (−14), and the terms are 83 and −14.
Change every subtraction into adding the inverse, then read off the terms:
| Expression | Terms |
|---|---|
| −18 − 3 | −18, −3 |
| 13 − 2 + 6 | 13, −2, 6 |
| 6 × 5 + 3 | 6 × 5, 3 |
| 2 − 10 + 4 × 6 | 2, −10, 4 × 6 |
| 23 − 2 × 4 + 16 | 23, −2 × 4, 16 |
A product like 6 × 5 has no + inside it, so it is one term. That is why in 30 + 5 × 4 the terms are 30 and 5 × 4, and the value is 30 + 20 = 50.
A common slip: in 28 − 7 + 8, some children add 7 + 8 = 15 and write 28 − 15. Wrong! The terms are 28, −7 and +8. −7 + 8 = +1, so the answer is 28 + 1 = 29.
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