Video: Degrees of Algebraic Terms

Video Transcript

If the degree of negative three 𝑥 cubed is the same as that of 𝑧 to the 𝑛, what is the value of 𝑛?

The degree of an algebraic term is the sum of the powers of the algebraic factors. For example, negative four 𝑥 cubed plus 𝑥 squared plus one will have a degree of five. Here, we added all the powers of each algebraic factor. So we added a three and a two and a zero to come up with a degree of five.

Back to our problem, it says that the degree of negative three 𝑥 cubed is the same as the degree of 𝑧 to the 𝑛. The main question here would then be, what is the degree of negative three 𝑥 cubed? Since there’s only one term and that term is to the third power, the degree here is three. Negative three 𝑥 cubed has a degree of three. And 𝑧 to the 𝑛, our question tells us is the same degree; 𝑧 to the 𝑛 will be to the third degree. The 𝑛 or the power that 𝑧 is being taken to equals three.