Question

How do you write a polynomial in standard form, then classify it by degree and number of terms `a^3(a^2 + a + 1)`?

Answer 1

See explanation.

Explanation:

To write this polynomial in standard form you have to multiply all terms in brackets by `a^3`.

`a^3*(a^2+a+1)=a^5+a^4+a^3`

Now the polynomial in standard form is:

`P(a)=a^5+a^4+a^3`

This polynomial is a sum of `3` expressions, so it is a trinomial, the highest exponent is `5`, so we can say that the polynomial is
a trinomial of fifth degree.