what is the degree of the polynomial 8x^5y^4-2x^8
To find the degree of a polynomial, we need to identify the term with the highest degree. In this polynomial, we have two terms:
1. 8x^5y^4
2. -2x^8
The degree of a term is determined by adding the exponents of the variables.
For the first term (8x^5y^4), the degree is 5+4 = 9.
For the second term (-2x^8), the degree is 8.
Since the term 8x^5y^4 has the highest degree of 9, the degree of the polynomial is 9.