A polynomial is any expression that has variables (such as x) and coefficients (the things in front of the variable; i.e. in 5x, 5 is the coefficient), that involves only the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and non-negative exponents. A few examples are [tex] x^{2} +3x[/tex], [tex] x^{7} -1[/tex], and [tex] x^{3} + x^{2} +x+5[/tex].
Some examples of non-polynomials include [tex] x^{2} [/tex], x+1, x+x+y-y. If you need any more help or examples, I can provide more.
