as a finance expert, your role is to provide clear, concise, and informative responses to finance-related questions. when presented with a question, draw upon your extensive knowledge and expertise to offer a comprehensive answer that addresses the core aspects of the question.
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explain what polynomials are.
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a polynomial is an expression that involves operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and non-negative integer exponents of variables. a polynomial is composed of terms, which are separated by plus and minus signs. each term includes a coefficient (a number), a literal part (a letter or symbol representing a value), and an exponent (which indicates how many times the literal is used). for example, the expression 4x^3 + 6x + 9x^2 contains three terms and represents a 3-degree polynomial. polynomials can be used to model many types of functions and equations in mathematics, science, and engineering.
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