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Glite Dictionary
degree of a polynomial

degree of a polynomial

6.6
The highest power of the variable in a polynomial
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : grado de un polinomio
  • To find the degree of a polynomial, look for the term with the largest exponent.

Examples

  • A linear equation has a degree of a polynomial equal to one.

  • A quadratic equation has a degree of a polynomial equal to two.

  • The degree of a polynomial helps determine how many solutions an equation can have.

  • What is the degree of a polynomial?

  • The degree of a polynomial determines its shape.

  • The degree of a polynomial reveals how many times the graph can turn.

  • To classify a polynomial, first identify its degree of a polynomial based on the highest exponent.

Synonyms

degree
vsdegree of a polynomial
  • Specialized
232 7.4

The highest power of a variable in a math expression

applies to expressions formed from sums of variable powers rather than any algebraic form

Surface Forms

degree of a polynomial singular
degrees of a polynomial plural

Morphology

degree + of + a + polynomial

The phrase is compositionally built (a measure/degree applied to a polynomial), so there is a clear relation between the parts. However, the exact technical sense 'the highest exponent' is a specialized mathematical meaning of 'degree' that an average B1 learner would not reliably infer from the words alone, making the expression only partially predictable.

Etymology

Degree of a polynomial uses the word degree like 'height': imagine a pile of terms in a polynomial and the top term has the largest exponent. That's why the degree means the 'highest power' of the polynomial, the largest exponent it contains.