Explanation:
The original expression is the same as [tex]17x^1 + 4[/tex] since [tex]x^1 = x[/tex]
The degree of any polynomial is always the largest exponent. This applies to single variable polynomials only.
Therefore, the degree of [tex]17x^1 + 4[/tex] is 1. This is a linear polynomial, and it's also a binomial since it has 2 terms 17x and 4.