Degree of a Polynomial
The degree of a monomial is the sum of the exponents of all its variables.
Example 1:
The degree of the monomial 7y3z2 is 5 (= 3 + 2).
Example 2:
The degree of the monomial 7x is 1 (since the power of x is 1).
Example 3:
The degree of the monomial 66 is 0 (constants have degree 0).
The degree of a polynomial is the greatest of the degrees of its terms (after it has been simplified.)
Example 4:
The degree of the polynomial
x7 + 2x3 + 6x – x7
is 3 (since the polynomial can be simplified to
2x3 + 6x
in which the term with the highest power of x is 2x3).
Example 5:
The degree of the polynomial
xyz + xy3 + 99x2
is 4 (since the term xy3 has degree 1 + 3 = 4).
