Is it true that the monomial $4x^4$ has a degree of $4$ because of the exponent? Also, I think $-2x$ has a degree of $1$ because it has an exponent of $1$ when it's also written like this: $-2x^1$. It's the same thing. Also, constants, like $94$, have a degree of zero because it's equal to $94x^0$, which simplifies to $94\cdot1$ and then equals $94$. Also, monomials can be listed into a polynomial according to their degrees like this:$$10x^4-x^3+4x^2+3x-1$$Does this really happen depending on the whole-number exponent of the variable or if it's a constant?
$\endgroup$ 31 Answer
$\begingroup$The degree of a monomial is the sum of all the exponents of the variables in the monomial.
Examples:
The degree of $97$ is $0$ because $97=97x^0$.
The degree of $4x^2$ is $2$ because the exponent $2$ is the only exponent involved.
The degree of $xyzw$ is $4$ because each of the four variables has degree $1$, so $1+1+1+1=4$.
The degree of $x^2y^3z^5w^7$ is $17$ because the sum of the exponent's variables gives us $2+3+5+7=17$.
$\endgroup$