How do you find the degree of -4?

1 Answer
Nov 1, 2017

0

Explanation:

A polynomial is a sum of terms in some variable, or variables with non-negative integer degrees.

The degree of the polynomial is the highest degree of each of the constituent terms.

In our example:

-4 = -4x^0

has degree 0

So the polynomial -4 has degree 0.

Warning

You might think that the zero polynomial 0 also has degree 0, but note that it is the sum of no terms with non-zero coefficients.

It is probably best said to have undefined degree, but if one is assigned, then it is conventionally the value -1 or the value -oo.