Question

How do you write a polynomial in standard form, then classify it by degree and number of terms `5a^2 + 3a^3+1`?

Answer 1

See explanation.

Explanation:

To write the polynomial in standard form you have to order its terms by decreasing powers of the unknown (here `a`):

`5a^2+3a^3+1=3a^3+5a^2+1`

The resulting polynomial is a sum of 3 terms. The degree of a polynomial is the highest power with non zero coefficient. Here the powers are: `3,2` and `0` (the last term `1` can be written as `1a^0`), so the highest power (i.e. the polynomial degree) is `3`