the greatest added number of exponents in 1 monomial part of a polynomioal
ex
5s8t + 3sh - 8h
the first part has a degree of 2 because of the invisible 1's on the s and t
the second part has a degree of 2 for the same reasons
the last part has adegree of 1 because of the invisible one
the degree would be 2 because it is the greatest of the 3 sections
