Compare and contrast expanding and simplifying
algebraic expressions with simplifying numeric
expressions. for example, compare simplifying 3(x - 2) +
(x - 1) with 3(5 – 2) + (5 – 1).

With algebraic expressions, you can’t add and subtract any terms like you can add and subtract numbers. Terms must be like terms in order to combine them. So, you can’t always simplify an algebraic expression by following the order of operations. You have to use the distributive property to rewrite the expression and then combine like terms to simplify. With numeric expressions, you can either simplify inside the parentheses first or use the distributive property first.