Question

what is the leading term of the polynomial $f(x)$ defined below? $f(x) = 9x - 10$

Explanation:

Step1: Recall the definition of leading term

The leading term of a polynomial is the term with the highest degree. For a polynomial in the form \( f(x)=a_nx^n + a_{n - 1}x^{n-1}+\cdots+a_1x + a_0\), the degree of each term is the exponent of \(x\), and we look for the term with the largest exponent.

Step2: Analyze the given polynomial

In the polynomial \(f(x) = 9x-10\), we have two terms: \(9x\) (where the exponent of \(x\) is \(1\)) and \(- 10\) (which can be thought of as \(-10x^0\), where the exponent of \(x\) is \(0\)). Since \(1>0\), the term with the highest degree is \(9x\).

Answer:

\(9x\)