Question

$3x^2+2x-1=0$ is a equation of degree _____

Answer 1

We know that the degree of a polynomial is the value of the greatest exponent (except the constant). To find the degree all that you have to do is find the largest exponent in the polynomial.

The given polynomial $3x^2+2x-1=0$ has three terms. The first one is $3x^2$, the second is $2x$, and the third is $-1$.

The exponent of the first term is $2$.

The exponent of the second term is $1$ because $2x=2x^1$.

The exponent of the third term is $0$ because

$-1=-1\times x^0=-1\times 1$ (anything with an exponent of $0$ is always equal to $1$).

Since the highest exponent is $2$,

Hence, the degree of the polynomial $3x^2+2x-1=0$ is $2$.