In the expansion of (x + y)^5, what do the exponents in any single term add up to?

1. In a binomial expansion the power on x falls while the power on y rises. 2. The two movements match each other exactly, so their sum never changes. 3. That fixed sum is n, which is 5 here, so every term has combined degree 5. 4. The count 6 is the number of terms in the expansion rather than the degree of any one of them. _Source: OpenStax Algebra and Trigonometry (CC BY 4.0), Ch 13 "Sequences, Probability and Counting Theory", section 13.6 Binomial Theorem_