Activity 1 Which is which?

Determine whether each of the following is a polynomial expression or not. Give

your reasons.
1. 14x

2 x +x

2. 5x -4

3. -2014x

4. X 4

3
3 x +7
4

5.

1
2
3
+ +
2x 3x 4x

6.

+ 3 x

7. 3x
8. X

++9 x2

+2 x +1
100

9. -4 x

+4x

10.1-16x
Did you answer each item correctly? Do you remember when an expression is a
polynomial? We defined a related concept below .
A polynomial function is a function of the form.
P(X)= a x

+a x

+a x+ +a x +a , a 0,

Where n is a nonnegative integer, a , a ,a are real numbers called coefficients ,

a x is the leading term , a , is the leading coeffiecient , and a is the constant term.
The terms of a polynomial may be written in any order. However, if they are written
in decreasing powers of x, we say the polynomial function is in standard form.
Other than P (x),a polynomial function may also be denoted by f(x). Sometimes, a
Polynomial function is represented by a set P of ordered pairs (x,y). Thus, a
polynomial function can be written in different ways, like the following.

F(x)