Assuming you meant [tex]f(x)=-16x^{3}-7x^{2} -1[/tex] the degree is 3. The degree of a polynomial is always the highest degree one single term has. In this [tex]-16x^{3}[/tex] has a degree of 3, which is the highest in the polynomial, and therefore the answer. The degree of a term is the exponent or what the power of the term is. If the polynomial is in standard form, the degree will always be the first exponent.
