Question

Which description is correct for the polynomial 3x3+4x2−7?

quadratic trinomial

cubic binomial

quartic trinomial

cubic trinomial

Answer 1

This would be a Cubic Trinomial; The number of terms are 3 and the degree is 3.

Answer 2

Cubic trinomial

Explanation:

The first word expresses the maximum exponent of our polynomial . In this case, cubic means that our variable (x) has, as higher degree, 3. If the highest degree would have been 2, we say we have a quadratic polynomial. Quartic doesnt exist.

The second term refers to the number of independent expressions that constitute our function. In the example, we have 3 expressions 3x^3 , 4x^2 and -7. As there are three expressions, we say that the polynomial is a trinomial. If the expression had only two terms it would be a binomial.