How do I tell the difference between polynomials

Me with this assignment ! i only partially understand, so explain. also it's a work sample. at the championship bike race, steve and paula were fighting for first place. steve was 175 feet ahead of paula and had only 300 feet left to go. he was very tired and was going only 9 feet per second. paula was desperate to catch up and was going 15 feet per second. who won the bike race and by how far did she/he win?

The plant were you work has a cylindrical oil tank that is 2.5 feet across on the inside and 10 feet high. the depth of the oil in the tank is 2 feet. about how many gallons of oil are in the tank?

Pleas ! its urgent! what is the value of x? enter your answer in the box. mm