If all the variables are the same, you just add (algebraically add) the numbers. For example:
3a + 4a = 7a
2a - 10a = -8a
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5n+6n-2n can be solved by combining like terms. Combine 5n and 6n and -2n to get 9n.
That equals x.
There is nothing that you can do when you combine like terms that you cannot do without combining them. Some procedures might be easier, though, if like terms are combined.
-6k + 7k = k
The answer depends on how fluently you can work with fractions.