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Definition of a Polynomial

The formal definition, according to Wikipedia, is "an expression consisting of variables and coefficients which only employs the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and non-negative integer exponents."

Ok, that probably didn't help, did it? What does it really mean? Well, a polynomial is something that looks like this:

$$ x^2+7x-9 $$

It contains variables (\(x\)), it uses multiplication, subtraction, and addition, and has a positive, integer exponent (the \(x^2\) term).

Polynomial Lessons