Question

What is the difference between a coefficient and variable (such as 3x) and a constant (5)?  Why can these two types of terms not be combined?

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Answer 1

see below (I hope this makes sense!)

Explanation:

Constants, as the name suggest, stay constant, meaning that their value never changes. For example, 2 will always be 2 and 9.4 will always be 9.4. On the other hand, the values of variables can change. Take, for example, the variable 2x. When x = 1, 2x = 2 and when x =2, 2x = 4 so the value of 2x can change depending on what x is. You can't combine constants and variables because they are not like terms, basically, one can change and the other can't and you cannot combine terms that are not like each other.