Question

1. make sense and persevere explain why constant terms expressed as different rational number types can be combined.

Explanation:

A constant term is a fixed numerical value. By definition, any rational number can be written as $\frac{p}{q}$ where $p$ is an integer and $q$ is a non-zero integer. All constant terms (integers, finite decimals, repeating decimals) fit this rational number definition. When combining like constant terms, we are just adding or subtracting rational numbers, which results in another rational number, so they can be combined.

Answer:

Constant terms are rational numbers (they can be written as $\frac{p}{q}$, $p\in\mathbb{Z}$, $q\in\mathbb{Z}, q
eq0$). The sum or difference of rational numbers is also a rational number, so different rational number-type constant terms can be combined through arithmetic operations to form a single constant term.