Alexus S.
asked 02/10/2162 how many degrees are in the polynomial? And name the polynomial using the number of terms and the degree
1 Expert Answer

Vasumathi N. answered 02/14/21
Effective Math Tutor . Cater to Various Learning Styles.
Hi Alex,
here is some basic vocabulary.
A polynomial is an expression that has many unlike terms, separated by a plus or minus symbol.
A polynomial with 2 terms and a polynomial with 3 terms have special names.
Example 1: a+2 is a binomial ,or it is a polynomial with 2 unlike terms separated by a plus symbol.
Example 2: 2x+3y-5
is a trinomial; or it is a polynomial with 3 unlike terms.
What are the 3 terms ? The 3 terms are 2x, 3y, and 5.
What is the degree of this polynomial ?
The degree of this trinomial is 1.
Why?
The degree is 1 because 1 is the highest power (or exponent) of a variable in the polynomial. [Invisible exponent means that the exponent is 1]
Example 3; 5x2-2y+6 is a trinomial and the degree is 2.
Example 4: x+ y is a binomial. Do you know why? ( Hint: what does the bi in bicycle tell you?)
What is the degree of this binomial?
All expressions with 4 or more terms are Polynomials!
Example 5: a3+ 7a+ 2b + 5b2 + 8 is a polynomial . It has 5 terms and the degree of this polynomial is 3.
Note.
The following expressions are called terms or monomials.
(i) x (ii) x2 (iii) xy (iv) 3xz (v) -7abc (vi) 4
In the term 3xz, the 3 is called the coefficient ; 3 is called the number part and xz is called the variable part.
The term 4 is a constant .
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Raymond J.
What is the polynomial?02/10/21