what is the coefficient of x in the following expressions

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Can anyone help me out with wether my assumptions are correct with the coefficient of $x$ in the following expressions:

$$ 17 - 6x^2 + 2x $$

I would say the answer is $-4$

$$ 12xy - 3x + 4 $$

I would say the answer is $3$ or would you include the $12xy$?

$$ 5x^4 + 7x^3 - 11x^2 + 3 $$

I would say the answer is $1$.

Some or all of my answers are wrong could somebody explain why? Thank you.

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2 Answers

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A coefficient is a constant by which a variable is multiplied. In your case the variable is $x$.

• For $$17−6x^2+2x$$ the coefficient of $x$ is 2.
• For $$12xy−3x+4$$ the coefficient of $x$ is -3. We must keep the sign.
• For $$5x^4+7x^3−11x^2+3$$ the coefficient of $x$ is 0. There is no $x$ term.

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If you need to know the coefficient of $x$, in the first equation is $2$, since you cannot sum $x^2$ and $x$ coefficients.

In the second equation it's, as you say, $-3$.

In the third equation it's $0$ since there's no element with just one $x$.

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