i am writing the question down?

Question

arrange the terms in each polynomial in ascending powers of x 1)2x^3y+3xy-x^5

Answer 1

Ascending -> in increasing powers of x. Lowest to highest.

2x^3 y + 3xy - x^5

Look at the powers of x; from left to right, it is 3, then 1, then 5. We want the order 1, then 3, then 5. Rearranging accordingly should give us

3xy + 2x^3 y - x^5

Answer 2

The highest power of x is 5, that term goes first. Don't forget that the negative sign in front of it is the coefficient -1 (the sign belongs to the term).
The next highest has power 3 (2 x^3 y), it goes second, leaving the term where x is at power 1 (power 1 is not written -- x and x^1 are exactly the same thing)