What is the degree of the polynomial 3x^3 + 2x^5 + x?

• A. 3
• B. 5
• C. 2
• D. 1

Answer: (B)

The degree of a polynomial is the highest power of x that appears with a nonzero coefficient. In 3x^3 + 2x^5 + x, the exponents are 3, 5, and 1. The largest is 5, and the coefficient of x^5 is 2 (nonzero), so the degree is 5. The other terms have lower powers and do not affect the degree.