Feng shui and the Chinese zodiac both have roots in the I Ching, the ancient Chinese text that helps people determine lucky dates, among other predictions. Each year, Ng analyzes how the Chinese zodiac will affect everything from the global political climate to what the world's health will look like in the coming months.
The degree of a polynomial function is the highest exponent to which the dependent variable is raised. For example, f(x) = 4x 5 â x 2 + 5 is a fifth-degree polynomial, because its highest exponent is 5.
The graph of a degree 0 polynomial; f(x) = a 0, where a 0 â  0, is a horizontal line with y-intercept a 0. The graph of a degree 1 polynomial (or linear function) f(x) = a 0 + a 1 x, where a 1 â  0, is an oblique line with y-intercept a 0 and slope a 1. The graph of a degree 2 polynomial; f(x) = a 0 + a 1 x + a 2 x 2, where a 2 â  0 is a parabola. The graph of a degree 3 polynomial; f(x) = a 0 + a 1 x + a 2 x 2 + a 3 x 3, where a 3 â  0 is a cubic curve. The graph of any polynomial with degree 2 or greater; f(x) = a 0 + a 1 x + a 2 x 2 + ... + a n x n, where a n â  0 and n â¥ 2 is a continuous non-linear curve.