0

Fairly simple question here, what is the name of a polynomial where the values/substitution don't matter, only the value of the coefficients and exponents?

For example, the polynomial could take any shape:

$1+2x^2$

$x^3+4x^5+8x+10$

the defining characteristic is that no number is substituted for x.

Liam Haller
  • 9
  • 1
  • If you need to be explicit, you can call it a formal polynomial. See https://math.stackexchange.com/q/216470/207316 & https://math.stackexchange.com/q/98345/207316 – PM 2Ring Feb 10 '22 at 18:26
  • 1
    Then it's just a "polynomial", which can be very different from a "polynomial function" depending on the field you're working with (with finite field for example there is no longer a bijection between the two categories). $X$ is usually called the " indeterminate ". Formally, a polynomial is defined as a sequence which has only a finite number of non-zero terms. – Lelouch Feb 10 '22 at 18:43
  • It helped if you quoted what your definition of a polynomial is. – dxiv Feb 10 '22 at 19:19

0 Answers0