All the exponents in the algebraic expression must be non-negative integers in order for the algebraic expression to be a polynomial. As a general rule of thumb if an algebraic expression has a radical in it then it isn't a polynomial. Because the exponent of the variable must be a whole number, monomials and polynomials cannot have a variable in the denominator. Polynomials can be classified by the degree of the polynomial. The degree of a polynomial is the degree of its highest degree term.
