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Adding (or subtracting) polynomials is really just
an exercise in collecting like terms. For example, if we want to add the
polynomial
2x2 + 4x – 3
to the polynomial
6x – 4,
we would just put them together and collect like
terms:
Notice that the parentheses in the first line are
only there to distinguish the two polynomials.
Although this is basically just a bookkeeping
activity, it can get a little messy when there are many terms. One way to help
keep things straight is use the column format for addition, keeping like terms
lined up in columns:
This method
is particularly helpful in the case of
subtraction, because it is too easy to
make a mistake distributing the minus
sign when you write it all in one row.
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