Combining Like Terms

Inside the case file

Combining like terms and distributive property worksheets for 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade and 9th grade are all in this no prep Mini Mystery Detective pack of math worksheets. It's pre-algebra practice for math centers, early finishers, sub plans, homework, spiral review and test prep, with an answer key for every case.

 

The pack has four difficulty levels, which helps in a mixed-ability class. The cases begin with straightforward distributing and no negatives, then work up to negative terms, then to distributing and collecting like terms, and finally to two distributions inside a single expression.

 

What's Inside

• Level 1, no negatives: distributing a whole number over a sum, such as 3(6x+11) and 7(5x+7)
• Level 2, with negatives: negative terms inside and outside the parentheses, such as 9(5x–3) and –8(x–6)
• Level 3, combining like terms: distribute first, then collect the x terms and the constants, such as 3(4x+9)–6x and 4(8x+6)+8
• Level 4, distributing twice: two products in one expression to expand and simplify, such as 6(5x+6)+2(4x+7) and 3(4x+5)–3(5x+9)
• Reading a simplified answer as two parts: a variable term and a constant term
• Suspect line-ups that make every page self-checking
• Answer keys for every case

Ten school-year cases to crack: the missing locker tag, the vanished hall pass, the empty supply closet, the lost trip forms, the broken scoreboard, the yearbook proofs, the swapped lunches, the silent school bell, the lost show tickets and the sabotaged fair.

A contents page lists every case with its level. You can hand each student the sheet that fits.

 

What is a Mini Mystery Detective?

A no-prep detective activity where students solve math problems to cross off suspects and unmask the culprit. Every suspect wears an ID badge showing a simplified expression. Each correct answer eliminates one name, and the last suspect standing is the villain.

 

When to Use This Resource

• Bell ringers and warm-ups
• Independent practice after a lesson on the distributive property
• Tutoring and re-teaching
• Small-group intervention and differentiated practice
• Whole-class pre-algebra review

 

Grade Levels

Designed for 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th graders. It also suits high school students who need more practice simplifying expressions, and advanced 5th graders starting pre-algebra.

 

Why Teachers Love Mystery Detectives

• Nothing to prep or cut out
• Students can tell when an answer doesn't match a suspect
• A detective story on every page of algebra
• Four levels in the same format
• Expanding, collecting like terms and working with negatives
• Useful for intervention groups and for fast finishers

If your class is starting without variables, the Distributive Property Mystery Detective covers breaking apart products with whole numbers only, in the same detective format.

 

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