Precalculus Examples

$- 2 x^{4} - 3 x^{2} + x - 1$

Step 1

The degree of a polynomial is the highest degree of its terms.

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Step 1.1

Identify the exponents on the variables in each term, and add them together to find the degree of each term.

$- 2 x^{4} \to 4$

$- 3 x^{2} \to 2$

$x \to 1$

$- 1 \to 0$

Step 1.2

The largest exponent is the degree of the polynomial.

$4$

Step 2

The leading term in a polynomial is the term with the highest degree.

$- 2 x^{4}$

Step 3

The leading coefficient of a polynomial is the coefficient of the leading term.

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Step 3.1

The leading term in a polynomial is the term with the highest degree.

$- 2 x^{4}$

Step 3.2

The leading coefficient in a polynomial is the coefficient of the leading term.

$- 2$

Step 4

List the results.

Polynomial Degree: $4$

Leading Term: $- 2 x^{4}$

Leading Coefficient: $- 2$