Remember that the terms of a polynomial are the parts of the polynomial separating by addition and subtraction; in other words, the parts separated by (+) and (-) signs. Knowing this, we can separate the terms of our polynomial:
[tex]a^2-ab+8b+b^2-1[/tex]
- First term: [tex]a^2[/tex]
- Second term: [tex]-ab[/tex]
- Third term: [tex]8b[/tex]
- Fourth term: [tex]b^2[/tex]
- Fifth term: [tex]-1[/tex]
We can conclude that there are 5 terms in the polynomial [tex]a^2-ab+8b+b^2-1[/tex].
