A polynomial in the variable x is a function that can be written in the form,

where a_n, a_n-1 , ..., a₂, a₁, a₀ are constants.

 

The names of different polynomial functions are summarized in the table below.

Degree of the polynomial	Name of the function
0	Constant function
1	Linear function
2	Quadratic function
3	Cubic function
4	Quartic function
5	Quintic Function
n (where n > 5)	nth degree polynomial