Degree of a term

The degree of a term in an algebraic expression is the sum of the exponents (indices) of all the variables appearing in that term. For example, in the expression $x^2 + 3xy - 2y^2 + 5x + 2$: the term $x^2$ has degree two (the exponent of $x$ is $2$); the term $3xy$ has degree two (exponent $1$ on $x$ plus exponent $1$ on $y$); the term $-2y^2$ has degree two; the term $5x$ has degree one; and the constant term $2$ has degree zero, since it carries no variable. The degree of th …