Key Terms

binomial

A binomial is a polynomial with exactly two terms.

conjugate pair

A conjugate pair is two binomials of the form $\left(a-b\right),\left(a+b\right)$; the pair of binomials each have the same first term and the same last term, but one binomial is a sum and the other is a difference.

degree of a constant

The degree of any constant is 0.

degree of a polynomial

The degree of a polynomial is the highest degree of all its terms.

degree of a term

The degree of a term is the exponent of its variable.

monomial

A monomial is a term of the form $a{x}^m$, where $a$ is a constant and $m$ is a whole number; a monomial has exactly one term.

negative exponent

If $n$ is a positive integer and $a\ne 0$, then $a^{\text{−}n}=\frac{1}{a^n}$.

polynomial

A polynomial is a monomial, or two or more monomials combined by addition or subtraction.

scientific notation

A number is expressed in scientific notation when it is of the form $a\times {10}^n$ where $a\ge 1\text{and}a<10$ and $n$ is an integer.

standard form

A polynomial is in standard form when the terms of a polynomial are written in descending order of degrees.

trinomial

A trinomial is a polynomial with exactly three terms.