Elementary Algebra 2e

# Key Terms

binomial
A binomial is a polynomial with exactly two terms.
conjugate pair
A conjugate pair is two binomials of the form $(a−b),(a+b)(a−b),(a+b)$; the pair of binomials each have the same first term and the same last term, but one binomial is a sum and the other is a difference.
degree of a constant
The degree of any constant is 0.
degree of a polynomial
The degree of a polynomial is the highest degree of all its terms.
degree of a term
The degree of a term is the exponent of its variable.
monomial
A monomial is a term of the form $axmaxm$, where $aa$ is a constant and $mm$ is a whole number; a monomial has exactly one term.
negative exponent
If $nn$ is a positive integer and $a≠0a≠0$, then $a−n=1ana−n=1an$.
polynomial
A polynomial is a monomial, or two or more monomials combined by addition or subtraction.
scientific notation
A number is expressed in scientific notation when it is of the form $a×10na×10n$ where $a≥1anda<10a≥1anda<10$ and $nn$ is an integer.
standard form
A polynomial is in standard form when the terms of a polynomial are written in descending order of degrees.
trinomial
A trinomial is a polynomial with exactly three terms.
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