Question

What is true about the sum of the two polynomials?

6s2t – 2st2

4s2t – 3st2

The sum is a binomial with a degree of 2.
The sum is a binomial with a degree of 3.
The sum is a trinomial with a degree of 2.
The sum is a trinomial with a degree of 3.

Answer 1

combine like terms
for example, 6s^2t - 4s^2t = 2s^2t

to find the degree, add up the exponents for each term. the term with the highest exponent sum determines the degree. for example, the term 2s^2t has the degree 3 because the s has exponent 2 and the t has exponent 1, and 2 + 1 = 3

to find the type of polynomial, count the number of terms. a "term" is a product of variables/exponents that is separated by + - sign. for example, x + y has 2 terms but xy is 1 term