An expression consisting of a sum of a finite number of terms, each term being the product of a constant coefficient and one or more variables raised to a non-negative integer power, such as a_n x^n + a_{n-1}x^{n-1} + ... + a_0 x^0
An expression made up of the sum of terms whose variables have only positive whole number powers The coefficients of these terms may be any type of number (e g , a2 + b2 = 13)
This is an expression with one or more terms added to or subtracted from each other For example, x³ + 5x² - 8 is a polynomial
An algebraic expression consisting of one or more summed terms, each term consisting of a constant multiplier and one or more variables raised to integral powers For example, x2 - 5x + 6 and 2p3q + y are polynomials
describes an algorithm whose performance is specified by a polynomial function, e g O(n) or O(n^2)
A polynomial is an expression that can be written in the form anxn + an-1xn-1 + an-2xn-2 + a0 where n is an integer greater than or equal to zero
an statement in algebra that contains several different numbers and signs which are equal to a specific amount (poly- + -nomial (as in binomial)). In algebra, an expression consisting of numbers and variables grouped according to certain patterns. Specifically, polynomials are sums of monomials of the form ax^n, where a (the coefficient) can be any real number and n (the degree) must be a whole number. A polynomial's degree is that of its monomial of highest degree. Like whole numbers, polynomials may be prime or factorable into products of primes. They may contain any number of variables, provided that the power of each variable is a nonnegative integer. They are the basis of algebraic equation solving. Setting a polynomial equal to zero results in a polynomial equation; equating it to a variable results in a polynomial function, a particularly useful tool in modeling physical situations. Polynomial equations and functions can be analyzed completely by methods of algebra and calculus. See also orthoganal polynomial