Answer the questions about the following polynomial.

minus, 3, minus, x, plus, one third, x, squared, plus, x, to the power 4
−3−x+
3
1

x
2
+x
4

The expression represents a _____ polynomial with ____terms. The constant term is
____, the leading term is _____, and the leading coefficient is___.

quartic, cubic, linear, quadratic, quintic

1 answer

The given polynomial is:

\[ -x + \frac{1}{3} x^2 + x^4 - 3 \]

Let's rewrite it in standard form, arranging the terms from the highest degree to the lowest:

\[ x^4 + \frac{1}{3} x^2 - x - 3 \]

  1. Degree of the polynomial: The highest power of \(x\) is 4, so this is a quartic polynomial.

  2. Number of terms: The polynomial has four terms: \(x^4\), \(\frac{1}{3} x^2\), \(-x\), and \(-3\).

  3. Constant term: The constant term is \(-3\).

  4. Leading term: The leading term (the term with the highest degree) is \(x^4\).

  5. Leading coefficient: The coefficient of the leading term \(x^4\) is 1.

Now, we can fill in the blanks:

  • The expression represents a quartic polynomial with 4 terms.
  • The constant term is -3, the leading term is \(x^4\), and the leading coefficient is 1.

So the final filled-out statement is:

The expression represents a quartic polynomial with 4 terms. The constant term is -3, the leading term is \(x^4\), and the leading coefficient is 1.