TABLE OF CONTENTS An expression of the form a 0 x n + a 1 x n 1 + a 2 x n 2 + ...... + a n 1 x + a n where n is a whole number and a 0, a 1, a 2, ......, a n belong to some number system F, is called a polynomial in the variable x over the number system F. A polynomial is denoted by f( x) or g( x) etc.
If all the coefficients are real numbers, then the polynomial is called a real polynomial.
If a 0 ? 0, then a 0 (the coefficient of highest degree term) is called the leading coefficient and a 0 x n is called the leading term.
The highest index of the variable x occurring in the polynomial f( x) is called the degree of the polynomial.
The constant c = cx 0 is called a polynomial of degree zero.
The polynomial f( x) = ax + b, a ? 0 is of degree one and is called a linear polynomial.
The polynomial f( x) = ax 2 + bx + c, a ? 0 is of degree two and is called a quadratic polynomial.
The polynomial f( x) = ax 3 + bx
