What is the degree of 12a^2b^2 - 5ab^5

To determine the degree of an expression, you need to identify the term with the highest exponent. In this problem, there are only two terms. Let us analyze these terms:

12a^2b^2 - 5ab^5

First term: 12a^2b^2 = 2 + 2 = 4 (sum of their exponents)

Second term: 5ab^5 = 1 + 6 = 7 (sum of their exponents)

Therefore, the degree of this expression is 7.