Question

How can you tell when to multiply and make boxes vs to simply combine like terms?

Answer 1

You can multiply ANYTHING. Just make sure that when you multiply, you change the exponents properly. Combining like terms is basically like normal addition. For example, you cannot add 6x +3y because they have different variables. If it was 3x+6x, then you can add it because they are like terms.

Hope this helps! Comment if you have any questions!