what is a polynomial in one variable
Polynomials in one variable are algebraic expressions that consist of terms in the form where n is a non-negative (i.e. positive or zero) integer and a is a real number and is called the coefficient of the term. The degree of a polynomial in one variable is the largest exponent in the polynomial. Note that we will often drop the âin one variableâ part and just say polynomial. Here are examples of polynomials and their degrees. So, a polynomial doesnât have to contain all powers of x as we see in the first example.