What is the degree of the polynomial $2x^{2} - 7xy^{3} - 5$?

The degree of a term is the **sum of the exponents of all variables** in that term. Compute each: - $2x^{2}$: degree $= 2$. - $-7xy^{3}$: $x$ has degree 1, $y^{3}$ has degree 3, so the term's degree is $1 + 3 = 4$. - $-5$: a constant, degree $0$. The degree of the polynomial is the **greatest** term-degree: $\max(2, 4, 0) = 4$. Trap A takes only the first term. Trap B reads only the exponent on $y$, forgetting to add the 1 for $x$.