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Let's define this question one word at a time.

A polynomial is an equation with the variable x raised to whole number powers other than 0.

This may include 2x + 3, or x2 - 8x + 16, or even x5 - 4x3 + 9.

Coefficients are the numbers multiplied by the x term in question.

The term 6x3 has a coefficient of 6, the term -x/2 has a coefficient of -1/2 and the term x2 has a coefficient of 1.

Rational numbers are those which can be written as a ratio, or a fraction. This means its decimal notation will either have a finite amount of digits, like 0.625 (5/8), or a repeating series of decimals, e.g. 2.16666... or 13/6. Rational numbers can only be formed with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division - this means it excludes functions like taking the square root, the sine, or the log of a number.

In summary, a polynomial with rational coefficients is an expression with multiple terms, such as ax2 + bx + c, where the coefficients 'a' and 'b' (and typically 'c' as well, as it is the coefficient of x0 which is 1 by definition, and is therefore being multiplied by 1) are rational numbers.

This can extend to mean a polynomial of any degree, be it linear (x), cubic (x3), quartic (x4) or anything higher - so long as the coefficients of all the x terms are rational.

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Q: What does polynomial with rational coefficients mean?
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