The first term is -9x^3. It has 3rd degree, because the variable, x, is raised to the third power.
The second term is 3x^2. It has second degree, because the variable, x, is raised to the second power.
The third term is 6x. It is of first degree, because the variable, x, is raised to the first power.
The fourth term is 4. It is a constant.
The term with the highest degree is the first term, -9x^3. Because that term is of third degree, the polynomial is said to be of third degree. It is also called a "cubic" polynomial.
The first term is the first term you encounter when you read the polynomial from left to right. Humans usually like to write polynomials so that the first term is the one with the highest degree. This lets you learn right away the degree of the polynomial without reading it all the way to the end. Some computer programs like to put the terms in order of increasing degree, the reverse of what may be most useful to humans.
The second term is 3x^2. It has second degree, because the variable, x, is raised to the second power.
The third term is 6x. It is of first degree, because the variable, x, is raised to the first power.
The fourth term is 4. It is a constant.
The term with the highest degree is the first term, -9x^3. Because that term is of third degree, the polynomial is said to be of third degree. It is also called a "cubic" polynomial.
The first term is the first term you encounter when you read the polynomial from left to right. Humans usually like to write polynomials so that the first term is the one with the highest degree. This lets you learn right away the degree of the polynomial without reading it all the way to the end. Some computer programs like to put the terms in order of increasing degree, the reverse of what may be most useful to humans.
