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:
“Nothing in life possesses value except the degree of power—assuming that life itself is the will to power.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“It is a secret from nobody that the famous random event is most likely to arise from those parts of the world where the old adage “There is no alternative to victory” retains a high degree of plausibility.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“A certain degree of fear produces the same effects as rashness.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)