Question

Determine the degree of the polynomial function from the table.

x -2 -1 0 1 2
y -15 -9 -9 -9 -3

Answer 1

Since the degree of a polynomial is determined by the highest power of x in the function, let's examine the powers of x in the table.

For x = -2, the corresponding y value is -15.
For x = -1, the corresponding y value is -9.
For x = 0, the corresponding y value is -9.
For x = 1, the corresponding y value is -9.
For x = 2, the corresponding y value is -3.

Since the y values do not change significantly when x changes, it is likely that the function has a constant term.

Therefore, the degree of the polynomial function is 0, meaning it is a constant.