Find the Degree, Leading Term, and Leading Coefficient f(x)=-2x-x^2-8

$f (x) = - 2 x - x^{2} - 8$

Step 1

Reorder $- 2 x$ and $- x^{2}$ .

$f (x) = - x^{2} - 2 x - 8$

Step 2

The degree of a polynomial is the highest degree of its terms.

Identify the exponents on the variables in each term, and add them together to find the degree of each term.

$- x^{2} \to 2$

$- 2 x \to 1$

$- 8 \to 0$

The largest exponent is the degree of the polynomial.

$2$

Step 3

The leading term in a polynomial is the term with the highest degree.

$- x^{2}$

Step 4

The leading coefficient of a polynomial is the coefficient of the leading term.

The leading term in a polynomial is the term with the highest degree.

$- x^{2}$

The leading coefficient in a polynomial is the coefficient of the leading term.

$- 1$

Step 5

List the results.

Polynomial Degree: $2$

Leading Term: $- x^{2}$

Leading Coefficient: $- 1$