Count Terms in an Expression

What to count

A term is one piece of an expression that is separated from the next piece by addition or subtraction. For counting terms, rewrite subtraction as “plus a negative” if that helps you see the pieces more clearly.

How to count terms

1. Look for + and − signs that split the expression into parts.
2. Ignore multiplication and division inside a part. A product like 3x or 2( x + 1 ) is still one term if it is not split by + or − at the top level.
3. Count each separated piece once.
4. If parentheses appear after a minus sign, be careful: -(x+2) is one term before simplification, not two.

Quick examples

• 7x + 4 - 2y has 3 terms: 7x, 4, and -2y.
• 5a(2-b) + 9 has 2 terms: 5a(2-b) and 9.
• x - (3 + y) has 2 terms: x and -(3+y).

Check your count

Read the expression from left to right and mark every top-level addition or subtraction split. Your final answer should be a single number, the total count of terms.