AP Notes, Outlines, Study Guides, Vocabulary, Practice Exams and more!

Polynomials

A monomial is a term containing variables with only nonnegative integers as exponents. The degree of a monomial is the sum of the exponents of its variables. The finite sum (or difference) of a set of monomials is known as a polynomial. The polynomial is also an algebraic expression, being an additive combination of terms.

A monomial refers to a polynomial with just one term. Similarly, a polynomial with two terms is a binomial; a polynomial with three terms is a trinomial.

The degree of a polynomial is the degree of the monomial (in the polynomial) with the highest degree.

EX. The following are examples of polynomials

(1) 3x is a monomial of degree 1.
(2) 3x + 4y is a binomial of degree 1.
(3) -2x2 + 3xy2z3+ w3y2z2 is a trinomial. The term -2x2 has

degree 2, the term 3xy2z3 has degree (1+2+3) = 6, and the term w3y2z2 has degree (3+2+2) = 7. Thus, this polynomial has degree 7.

Subject: 
Algebra
Subject X2: 
Algebra

Need Help?

We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.

If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.

Need Notes?

While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!