Question

simplify the algebraic expression by combining like terms: 7 - 3y - 7 - 3y. alexander couldnt wait to show mr. payton that he got his answer first. knowingly, mr. payton told him to go and sit down. alexander flashed a big smile and walked away as he said, \its zero.\ before the teacher could cross his eyes and frown to correct alexander, abdurrahman raised his hand and politely asked, \mr. payton, can i say the answer?\ impressed, the curious teacher nodded approvingly. abdurrahman said,
egative six.\ mr. payton said, \aaaah, youre aaalmost correct but keep thinking.\ although abdurrahman had used desmos, what did he forget? friday, october 10 i asked sebastian to explain to the class why there are only four terms in thursdays warmup. he smiled nervously at first, looked at his paper, cleared his throat, and said, \ok, so theres four terms because...\ pierce, who had already finished his work, was doodling in his sketch pad. he hadnt looked up as he began heckling sebastian, \bro, youre—\ mr. payton cut him off, \—pieeerce. sebastian, please continue.\ pierce smiled but listened. sebastian attacked pierce sarcastically saying, \thank you, mr. payton! the reason its four terms is because if you take away the minus signs, there are four numbers—i mean—you know what i mean—left over. sixth period, was sebastian correct?

Explanation:

Step1: Combine constant - like terms

$7-7 = 0$

Step2: Combine variable - like terms

$-3y-3y=-6y$

Step3: Analyze Abdurrahman's mistake

Abdurrahman only considered the constant terms and ignored the variable terms. He should have included the $y$ terms in his answer.

Step4: Analyze Sebastian's statement

A term in an algebraic expression is a single number, variable, or the product of numbers and variables. In the expression $7 - 3y-7 - 3y$, the terms are $7$, $-3y$, $-7$, and $-3y$. Sebastian's reasoning of just counting the numbers without considering the signs and variables properly is incorrect. A term can be positive or negative and can include variables.

Answer:

Abdurrahman forgot to include the variable terms in his answer. Sebastian was incorrect.