Question

What is the degree of `7x^2y^2 - 8xy^3 - 11x^3y`?

Answer 1

`4`

Explanation:

The degree of a polynomial is the highest degree of any given term.

To find the degree of each individual term, add all the exponents present. Recall that `x=x^1`.

`underbrace(7x^2y^2)_ (2+2=4) - underbrace(8x^1y^3)_ (1+3=4) - underbrace(11x^3y^1)_ (3+1=4)`

The degree of each term is `4`. Hence the degree of the polynomial is the highest degree of any one term, but since they are all `4`, the polynomial's degree is also `4`.