- A rational function is a function that can be written as the ratio of two polynomial functions. Graphs of rational functions may have breaks in continuity where there is a vertical asymptote or point of discontinuity.
- Mathematician Maria Gaetana Agnesi discussed the "curve of Agnesi", the equation x2/y = a2(a - y), which can be written as a rational function y = a2/x2 + a2.
- A polynomial is the sum of monomial terms. The degree of a polynomial is the degree of the highest-degree term. The FOIL method can be used to multiply binomials by distributing and combining like terms.