Mathematical Expressions

An expression is a phrase that contains numbers, variables, and basic operators such as +, -, ×, and ÷.

Example of expressions: 4x + 10      -8y + ½       10a² - 2ab       48m       15 - 5       4x² - 8x + 2.


See polynomials on Wikipedia.

An expression has one or more terms. A term is a number by itself, the product of a number and a variable, or the product of more than one variable.

A monomial is an expression that has only one term. “Mono” means one, single, or alone. An example of a monomial is 48m.

A binomial is an expression that has two terms. “Bi” means two. An example of a binomial is 4x + 10.

A trinomial is an expression that has three terms. “Tri” means three. An example of a trinomial is 4x² - 8x + 2.

A polynomial is an expression with one or more terms.

The number included in a term that has a number, a letter, or more than one letter is called a coefficient.

The degree of a monomial is the sum of the exponents of all its variables. A nonzero constant has a degree of 0. Zero has no degree.

The degree of a polynomial is the greatest degree of any term in the polynomial. To find the degree of a polynomial, you must find the degree of each term. Some polynomials have special names based on their degrees.

A constant is a number that doesn't change. For example, in the expression 4x + 10, 10 is the constant. All constants have a degree of 0.