How many terms are in the following polynomial?

Question

3x^3 - 2y + 8x - 16
4
4

3
3

1
1

-16

Answer 1

A polynomial is made up of one or more terms, which are typically in the form of \(ax^n\) where \(a\) is a coefficient, \(x\) is a variable, and \(n\) is a non-negative integer.

Let's break down the given polynomial:

\[ 3x^3 - 2y + 8x - 16 \]

We can identify the individual terms:

1. \(3x^3\)
2. \(-2y\)
3. \(8x\)
4. \(-16\)

There are a total of 4 distinct terms in this polynomial.

Therefore, the answer is 4.