Degree
When using the term "quadratic polynomial", authors sometimes mean "having degree exactly 2", and sometimes "having degree at most 2". If the degree is less than 2, this may be called a "degenerate case". Usually the context will establish which of the two is meant.
Sometimes the word "order" is used with the meaning of "degree", e.g. a second-order polynomial.
Read more about this topic: Quadratic Polynomial
Famous quotes containing the word degree:
“Men commonly couple with their idea of marriage a slight degree at least of sensuality; but every lover, the world over, believes in its inconceivable purity.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It would be difficult to exaggerate the degree to which we are influenced by those we influence.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)
“A certain degree of fear produces the same effects as rashness.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)