A polynomial looks like this:

example of a polynomial
this one has 3 terms
Polynomial comes from poly- (meaning "many") and -nomial (in this case
meaning "term") ... so it says "many terms"
an expression of more than two algebraic terms, especially the sum of several terms that
contain different powers of the same variable(s).

A polynomial can have:

constants (like 3, −20, or ½)

variables (like x and y)
exponents (like the 2 in y2), but only 0, 1, 2, 3, ... etc are allowed

that can be combined using addition, subtraction, multiplication and

division ...

... except ...

... not division by a variable (so something like 2/x is right out)

So:

A polynomial can have constants, variables and exponents,

but never division by a variable.

Also they can have one or more terms, but not an infinite number of terms.

Polynomial or Not?
 These are polynomials:

 3x
 x−2
 −6y2 − (79)x
 3xyz + 3xy2z − 0.1xz − 200y + 0.5
 512v5 + 99w5
 5

(Yes, "5" is a polynomial, one term is allowed, and it can be just a constant!)

These are not polynomials

 3xy-2 is not, because the exponent is "-2" (exponents can only be 0,1,2,...)
 2/(x+2) is not, because dividing by a variable is not allowed
 1/x is not either
 √x is not, because the exponent is "½" (see fractional exponents)

But these are allowed:

 x/2 is allowed, because you can divide by a constant

 also 3x/8 for the same reason
 √2 is allowed, because it is a constant (= 1.4142...etc)

Monomial, Binomial, Trinomial

There are special names for polynomials with 1, 2 or 3 terms:
 How do you remember the names? Think cycles!

There is also quadrinomial (4 terms) and quintinomial (5 terms),

but those names are not often used.

Variables
Polynomials can have no variable at all

Example: 21 is a polynomial. It has just one term, which is a constant.

Or one variable

Example: x4 − 2x2 + x has three terms, but only one variable (x)

Or two or more variables

Example: xy4 − 5x2z has two terms, and three variables (x, y and z)

What is Special About Polynomials?

Because of the strict definition, polynomials are easy to work with.

For example we know that:

 If you add polynomials you get a polynomial

 If you multiply polynomials you get a polynomial

So you can do lots of additions and multiplications, and still have a polynomial
as the result.

Also, polynomials of one variable are easy to graph, as they have smooth and
continuous lines.

Example: x4−2x2+x
 See how nice and
smooth the curve is?

You can also divide polynomials (but the result may not be a polynomial).

Degree
The degree of a polynomial with only one variable is the largest exponent of
that variable.

Example:
The Degree is 3 (the largest exponent of x)

For more complicated cases, read Degree (of an Expression) .

Standard Form
The Standard Form for writing a polynomial is to put the terms with the
highest degree first.

Example: Put this in Standard Form: 3x2 − 7 + 4x3 + x6

The highest degree is 6, so that goes first, then 3, 2 and then the constant last:

x6 + 4x3 + 3x2 − 7
You don't have to use Standard Form, but it helps
Types of Polynomials:
1. Monomials – Monomials are the algebraic expression with one term,
hence the name says “Mono”mial.
2. Binomials – Binomials are the algebraic expression with two unlike
terms, hence the name “Bi”nomial.
3. Trinomials – Trinomials are the algebraic expression with three
unlike terms, hence the name “Tri”nomial.

Degree of a Polynomial
What do you understand by the degree of a polynomial? It is simply the
greatest of the exponents or powers over the various terms present in the
polynomial equation.

Example: Find the degree of a polynomial 7x – 5

In this, we observe that there are two terms in the mentioned

polynomial. The first term is 7x, whereas the second term is -5. Hence,
we define the exponent for each term. The exponent for the first term 7x
= 1 and for the second term -5 = 0. Since the highest exponent is 1,
therefore the degree of the polynomial 7x – 5 is also 1.

Types of Polynomial Equation

Let us try to get familiar with the different types of a polynomial
equation which form the base to further learning.

 Zero Polynomial: Whenever in a given polynomial every coefficient

value stays zero, then it is called as a zero polynomial. For example:
0 + 04 – 0
 Monomial: It is an algebraic expression that contains only one term
and is called as Monomial. In a simplistic form, it can be called as an
expression that contains any count of like terms. For example: 2x, 4t,
21x2y, 9pq etc. Each of these expressions is monomial since they
contain only one term.
 Binomial: It is an algebraic expression which comprises of two,
unlike terms. For example, 3x + 4x2 is binomial since it contains two
unlike terms, that is, 3x and 4x2. Also, 10pq + 13p2q is also a
Binomial. This is because it comprises two unlike terms, namely,
10pq and 13p2q.
 Trinomial: It is an algebraic expression that comprises three, unlike
terms. For example- 3x + 5x2 – 6x3 is an active Trinomial. It is due to
the presence of three, unlike terms, namely, 3x, 5x2 and 6x3. Also,
12pq + 4x2 – 10 is a trinomial, since it has three unlike terms- 12pq,
4x2 and 10.

Laws of Exponents
Exponents are also called Powers or Indices

The exponent of a number says how many times to use the number in
a multiplication.

In this example: 82 = 8 × 8 = 64

In words: 82 could be called "8 to the second power", "8 to the power 2" or
simply "8 squared"
Try it yourself:

34 = 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 = 81
© 2015 MathsIsFun.com v0.82

So an Exponent saves us writing out lots of multiplies!

Example: a7

a7 = a × a × a × a × a × a × a = aaaaaaa

Notice how we wrote the letters together to mean multiply? We will do that a lot
here.

Example: x6 = xxxxxx

The Key to the Laws

Writing all the letters down is the key to understanding the
Laws

Example: x2x3 = (xx)(xxx) = xxxxx = x5

Which shows that x2x3 = x5, but more on that later!

So, when in doubt, just remember to write down all the letters (as many as the
exponent tells you to) and see if you can make sense of it.

All you need to know ...

The "Laws of Exponents" (also called "Rules of Exponents") come from three
ideas:
 The exponent says how many times to use the number in a
multiplication.

A negative exponent means divide, because the opposite of

multiplying is dividing

A fractional exponent like 1/n means to take the nth root:

If you understand those, then you understand exponents!

And all the laws below are based on those ideas.

Laws of Exponents
Here are the Laws (explanations follow):

Law Example

x1 = x 61 = 6

x0 = 1 70 = 1

x-1 = 1/x 4-1 = 1/4

xmxn = xm+n x2x3 = x2+3 = x5

xm/xn = xm-n x6/x2 = x6-2 = x4

(xm)n = xmn (x2)3 = x2×3 = x6

 (xy)n = xnyn (xy)3 = x3y3

(x/y)n = xn/yn (x/y)2 = x2 / y2

x-n = 1/xn x-3 = 1/x3

And the law about Fractional Exponents:

Laws Explained
The first three laws above (x1 = x, x0 = 1 and x-1 = 1/x) are just part of
the natural sequence of exponents. Have a look at this:

Example: Powers of 5

.. etc..

52 1×5×5 25

51 1×5 5

50 1 1

5-1 1÷5 0.2

5-2 1÷5÷5 0.04

.. etc..

Look at that table for a while ... notice that positive, zero or negative exponents
are really part of the same pattern, i.e. 5 times larger (or 5 times smaller)
depending on whether the exponent gets larger (or smaller).
The law that xmxn = xm+n
With xmxn, how many times do we end up multiplying "x"? Answer: first "m"
times, then by another "n" times, for a total of "m+n" times.

Example: x2x3 = (xx)(xxx) = xxxxx = x5

So, x2x3 = x(2+3) = x5

The law that xm/xn = xm-n

Like the previous example, how many times do we end up multiplying "x"?
Answer: "m" times, then reduce that by "n" times (because we are dividing),
for a total of "m-n" times.

Example: x4/x2 = (xxxx) / (xx) = xx = x2

So, x4/x2 = x(4-2) = x2

(Remember that x/x = 1, so every time you see an x "above the line" and one
"below the line" you can cancel them out.)

This law can also show you why x0=1 :

Example: x2/x2 = x2-2 = x0 =1

The law that (xm)n = xmn

First you multiply "m" times. Then you have to do that "n" times, for a total
of m×n times.

Example: (x3)4 = (xxx)4 = (xxx)(xxx)(xxx)(xxx) = xxxxxxxxxxxx =

x12

So (x3)4 = x3×4 = x12

The law that (xy)n = xnyn
To show how this one works, just think of re-arranging all the "x"s and "y"s as
in this example:

Example: (xy)3 = (xy)(xy)(xy) = xyxyxy = xxxyyy = (xxx)(yyy) =

x3 y3

The law that (x/y)n = xn/yn

Similar to the previous example, just re-arrange the "x"s and "y"s

Example: (x/y)3 = (x/y)(x/y)(x/y) = (xxx)/(yyy) = x3/y3

The law that

OK, this one is a little more complicated!

I suggest you read Fractional Exponents first, or this may not make sense.

Anyway, the important idea is that:

x1/n = The n-th Root of x

And so a fractional exponent like 43/2 is really saying to do a cube (3) and
a square root (1/2), in any order.

Just remember from fractions that m/n = m × (1/n):

Example:

The order does not matter, so it also works for m/n = (1/n) × m:

Example:
Exponents of Exponents ...
What about this example?

432
We do the exponent at the top first, so we calculate it this way:

Start with: 432

32 = 3×3: 49

49 = 4×4×4×4×4×4×4×4×4: 262144

And That Is It!

If you find it hard to remember all these rules, then remember this:

you can work them out when you understand the

three ideas near the top of this page

Oh, One More Thing ... What if x = 0?

Positive Exponent
0n = 0
(n>0)

Negative Exponent 0-n is undefined (because dividing by 0 is

(n<0) undefined)

Exponent = 0 00 ... ummm ... see below!

The Strange Case of 00

There are different arguments for the correct value of 00

00 could be 1, or possibly 0, so some people say it is really "indeterminate":

x0 = 1, so ... 00 = 1

0n = 0, so ... 00 = 0

When in doubt ... 00 = "indeterminate"