Question

consider the following polynomial.
$h(x) = x^2 - 9x - 7$
step 1 of 2: find the degree and leading coefficient of $h(x)$.
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4 points
degree:
leading coefficient:

Explanation:

Step1: Find the degree

The degree of a polynomial is the highest power of \( x \) in the polynomial. For \( h(x) = x^2 - 9x - 7 \), the highest power of \( x \) is \( 2 \), so the degree is \( 2 \).

Step2: Find the leading coefficient

The leading coefficient is the coefficient of the term with the highest degree. The term with the highest degree (\( x^2 \)) has a coefficient of \( 1 \) (since \( x^2 = 1 \cdot x^2 \)), so the leading coefficient is \( 1 \).

Answer:

Degree: \( 2 \)
Leading Coefficient: \( 1 \)