# How do you write a polynomial in standard form, then classify it by degree and number of terms g^4 - 2g^3 - g^5?

Aug 17, 2017

The expression $- {g}^{5} + {g}^{4} - 2 {g}^{3}$ is a 5th degree polynomial

#### Explanation:

The standard form of a polynomial means that the order of degree, with the highest degree going first, and then the next highest, and so on and so forth...

So, we go from ${g}^{4} - 2 {g}^{3} - {g}^{5}$ to $- {g}^{5} + {g}^{4} - 2 {g}^{3}$

This is the standard form of the polynomial. Now let's classify it

Classification by term:
We are actually classifying the expression by the number of terms. So, there are more than 3 terms ($- {g}^{5} + {g}^{4} - 2 {g}^{3} + 0 {g}^{2} + 0 g$), which means we call it a polynomial

Classification by degree:
Once the expression is in standard form, we just look at the leading term, and the degree. So, the degree in this polynomial is ${g}^{5}$, so $\textcolor{red}{5}$.

The expression $- {g}^{5} + {g}^{4} - 2 {g}^{3}$ is a 5th degree polynomial