Scribd
Upload
188 views9 pages

Monomials and Polynomials: Mono Means One Bi Means Two Tri Means Three Poly Means Many

The document discusses monomials, polynomials, and operations involving them. It defines monomials as expressions with one term and polynomials as expressions with two or more terms. It provides examples of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing polynomials. Key steps for each operation are outlined, such as distributing terms when multiplying and ignoring dividend terms once the remainder is reached in long division.

Uploaded by

Mikaela Frani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
188 views9 pages

Monomials and Polynomials: Mono Means One Bi Means Two Tri Means Three Poly Means Many

The document discusses monomials, polynomials, and operations involving them. It defines monomials as expressions with one term and polynomials as expressions with two or more terms. It provides examples of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing polynomials. Key steps for each operation are outlined, such as distributing terms when multiplying and ignoring dividend terms once the remainder is reached in long division.

Uploaded by

Mikaela Frani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 9

Monomials and Polynomials

Sometimes, an expression or an equation will have exponents and variables in it. These


expressions and equations can have more than one variable and sometimes more than
one exponent. To understand how to work with these variables and exponents, you
have to understand polynomials. A polynomial is an algebraic expression that shows
the sum of monomials.
A monomial is an expression in which variables and constants may stand alone or be
multiplied. A monomial cannot have a variable in the denominator. You can think of a
monomial as being one term.
To understand these new terms better, let’s look at some word prefixes. The chart
below shows some common terms and the meaning of their prefixes.

Mono means one


Bi means two
Tri means three
Poly means many

Each prefix will give a hint as to the type of expression that you are dealing with. The
prefix mono, for example, means one, a monomial is a single piece or term.
Here are some monomials:
5x3−2x5x2y
The prefix poly means many. So the word polynomial refers to one or more than one
term in an expression. The relationship between these terms may be sums or
difference.
Here are some polynomials:
x2+52x−8+4x5−7a2+9b−4b3+6
You call an expression with a single term a monomial, an expression with two terms is
a binomial, and an expression with three terms is a trinomial. An expression with more
than three terms is named simply by its number of terms. For example a polynomial with
five terms is called a five-term polynomial.
From the information above, you can name the expressions as follows:

Examples
Example 1
Sam has the expression x2−8 and needs to classify it.
First, count the number of terms. In this expression there are two terms.
Next, classify the expression based on the number of terms. Two terms means it is a
binomial.
The answer is binomial.
Example 2
How would you identify the following expression? 
4x2−8y+4
First, consider how many terms are in the expression.
This expression has three terms.
Therefore, this expression is called a trinomial.
Example 3
Identify the expression 4x3−8.
First, consider how many terms are in the expression.
This expression has two terms.
The answer is binomial.
Example 4
Identify the expression x2+3x+9.
First, consider how many terms are in the expression.
This expression has three terms.
The answer is trinomial.
Example 5
Identify the expression 6xy.
First, consider how many terms are in the expression.
This expression has one term.
The answer is monomial.

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division of


Polynomials
Adding Polynomials
Step 1: Arrange the Polynomial in standard form.
Standard form of a polynomial just means that the term with highest degree is first and
each of the following terms.
Step 2: Arrange the like terms in columns and add the like terms.

Example
Let's find the sum of the following two polynomials
(3y5 − 2y + y4 + 2y3 + 5) and (2y5 + 3y3 + 2+7)
Subtracting Polynomials
Step 1: Arrange the Polynomial in standard form.
Standard form of a polynomial just means that the term with highest degree is first and
each of the following terms.
Step 2: Arrange the like terms in columns and change the sign of each term in the lower
line i.e. change the sign of each term of the expression to be subtracted.

Example

Let's find the difference of the same two polynomials

(3y5 − 2y + y4 + 2y3 + 5) and (2y5 + 3y3 + 2+ 7) 

Combine like terms (if you can).

Multiplying Polynomials
Multiply polynomial expressions by using the distributive property of multiplication. In
short, multiply every term in the first polynomial by every term in the second one.
Step 1: Distribute each term of the first polynomial to every term of the second
polynomial. Remember that when you multiply two terms together you must multiply the
coefficient (numbers) and add the exponents.
Step 2: Combine like terms (if you can).

Example  
Multiply: 3x2(4x2 – 5x + 7)

Step 1: Distribute each term of the first


polynomial to every term of the second
polynomial. In this case, we need to
distribute the 3x2.
Step 2: Combine like terms. In this
case, there are no like terms.

What "FOIL" stands for


"Foil" is a way that people remember the 'formula' for multiplying binomials . (An
alternative approach is to use "a href="/properties/double-distributive-
property.php">double distributive").
FOIL stands for first, outer, inner and last pairs. You are supposed to multiply these
pairs as shown below!
Firsts:

x⋅x=x2x⋅x=x2

Outers:

x⋅9=9xx⋅9=9x

Inners:

7⋅x=7x7⋅x=7x

Lasts:

7⋅9=637⋅9=63
So, now that we've multiplied, what is next?
Add up each term!

x2x2
9x9x
7x7x
+63+63

x2+16x+63x2+16x+63

Dividing Polynomials
Divide x2 – 9x – 10 by x + 1

First, I'll set up the division, putting the dividend (the thing being divided into) inside and
the divisor (the thing doing the dividing) outside and to the left:

For the moment, I'll ignore everything past the leading terms. Just as with numerical
long division, I will look just at the leading x of the divisor and the leading x2 of the
dividend.
If I divide the leading x2 inside by the leading x in front, what would I get? I'd get an x.
So I'll put an x on top of the division symbol, right above the x2 inside:

Now I'll take that x on top, and I'll multiply it through the divisor, x + 1. First, I'll multiply
the x (on top) by the x (on the "side"), and carry the resulting x2 underneath, putting it
directly below the x2 from the dividend:

Then I'll multiply the x (on top) by the 1 (on the "side"), and carry the 1x underneath,
putting it directly below the –9x in the dividend:

Then I'll draw the horizontal "equals" bar underneath what I've just put underneath the
dividend, so I can do the subtraction.

To subtract the polynomials, I first change all the signs in the second line...

...and then I add down. The first term (the x2) will cancel out (by design), while the –
9x – 1x becomes –10x:
I need to remember to carry down that last term (that is, the "subtract ten" term) from
the dividend:

At this point, I start ignoring the dividend, and instead work on the bottom line of my
long division.

I look at the x from the divisor and the new leading term, the –10x, in the bottom line of
the division. If I divide the –10x by the x, I would end up with a –10, so I'll put that on
top, right above the –9x:

Now I'll multiply the –10 (on top) by the leading x (on the "side"), and carry the –10x to
the bottom, directly underneath the previous line's –10x:

...and I'll multiply the –10 (on top) by the 1 (on the "side"), and carry the –10 to the
bottom, directly below the previous line's –10:
I'll draw another horizontal "equals" bar, and change the signs on all the terms in the
bottom row:

Then I add down:

By design, the 10x's cancelled off. By happenstance, the 10's cancelled off, too. Then
my answer, from across the top of the division symbol, is:

x – 10

You might also like