Question 126729
In the future, just use the ^ mark to denote raising to a power, like this:
r^2s-3rs^3+2r^3s^2+s^4.


{{{r^2s-3rs^3+2r^3s^2+s^4}}}


To determine the degree of a polynomial, examine the degree of each of the monomial terms.


The degree of a monomial term is the sum of the exponents contained in the term:


{{{r^2s}}} is a degree 3 term because of the 2 exponent on the r and the 1 (understood) exponent on the s, and 2 + 1 = 3.


Find the term with the highest degree, and that is then the degree of the overall polynomial.


{{{r^2s}}}: Degree 3
{{{-3rs^3}}}: Degree 4
{{{2r^3s^2}}}: Degree 5
{{{s^4}}}: Degree 4


The highest degree term is the third term which is degree 5, therefore the degree of the polynomial is 5.