The box below shows the first two of four steps for identifying equivalent expressions. • Simplify each expression. • Substitute a number for each variable. • • Which shows the last two steps in the directions? • Compare the resulting expressions. • If they have identical terms, the expressions are equivalent. • Compute the value of each expression. • Compare the values. If they are equal, the expressions are equivalent. • Decide if there are like terms in each expression. • Compare the like terms to simplify each expression. • Compare each expression, looking for like terms between them. • If each term matches one in the other expression, they are equivalent.