Question

The difference between an algebraic expression and a polynomial is:

• A. The exponents of polynomial terms are whole numbers while that of algebraic expression are not.
• B. The exponents of algebraic expression terms are whole numbers while that of polynomial are not.
• C. The constant term is absent in algebraic expression while it is present in polynomial.
• D. None of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is A The exponents of polynomial terms are whole numbers while that of algebraic expression are not.

The difference between algebraic expression and polynomial is that : The exponents of polynomial terms are whole numbers.

While that of algebraic expression are not.

For eg. A polynomial is expressed as :

$a_n{x}^n+a_{n-1}{x}^{n-1}+......a_0{x}^0$

where ${}^{\prime }{n}^{\prime }$ is a whole number.

Where as, $a$ algebraic expression can take any real value for exponents so, $\sqrt{x}$ is an algebraic expression but not a polynomial.

Since $x^{\frac{1}{2}}$ has $\frac{1}{2}$ has exponent.

Therefore, the answer is exponents of polynomial terms are whole numbers while that of algebraic expression are not.