SAT Math : How to find the degree of a polynomial

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Degree Of A Polynomial

Find the degree of the polynomial:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the degree of a polynomial we must find the largest exponent in the function.

The degree of the polynomial  is 5, as the largest exponent of  is 5 in the second term. 

Example Question #1 : Polynomials

What is the degree of the polynomial ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

When a polynomial has more than one variable, we need to find the degree by adding the exponents of each variable in each term. 

 has a degree of 4 (since both exponents add up to 4), so the polynomial has a degree of 4 as this term has the highest degree. 

Example Question #3 : How To Find The Degree Of A Polynomial

Find the degree of the following polynomial:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

When a polynomial has more than one variable, we need to find the degree by adding the exponents of each variable in each term.

Even though  has a degree of 5, it is not the highest degree in the polynomial - 

 has a degree of 6 (with exponents 1, 2, and 3). Therefore, the degree of the polynomial is 6.  

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Degree Of A Polynomial

Solve each problem and decide which is the best of the choices given.

 

What is the degree of the following polynomial?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The degree is defined as the largest exponent in the polynomial. In this case, it is .

Example Question #21 : Variables

What is the degree of this polynomial?

Possible Answers:

Degree 8

Degree 10

Degree 7

Degree 6

Degree 12

Correct answer:

Degree 8

Explanation:

When an exponent with a power is raised to another power, the value of the power are multiplied.

When multiplying exponents you add the powers together

The degree of a polynomial is the determined by the highest power. In this problem the highest power is 8.

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Degree Of A Polynomial

Find the degree of the following polynomial: 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The degree of a polynomial is the largest exponent on one of its variables (for a single variable), or the largest sum of exponents on variables in a single term (for multiple variables).

Here, the term with the largest exponent is , so the degree of the whole polynomial is 6.

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