Question 5468: What is the specific difference between a "term" and a "factor"?
Thank you.
Answer by rapaljer(4671)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Terms are quantities that are added or subtracted together. For example, in the expression  ,  is a term,  is a term, and  is considered a term. If you have terms that have the same variable(s)and the same powers, then they are "like terms," and they can be combined. For example  can be combined to  , since both terms have the same variables raised to the same powers. On the other hand,  are not like terms so they cannot be combined. Also,  are not like terms (different powers of x), so they also cannot be combined.
Factors are quantities that are multiplied together. For example, in the expression  , the quantities  and  are said to be factors, since they are multiplied together. Within the FACTOR you have two TERMS, that is  and  . They are called terms because they are added (or subtracted) together.
That is a very important question to ask. I probably need to write a lesson plan for this, but for now at least, I have a section on this topic in my book and on my website (double click on my tutor name) under Basic Algebra Section 1.06. Let me know if you are interested in seeing more, and if you need help finding it.
R^2 at SCC
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