Chapter 15 The binomial expansion and Pascals’ triangle test

Student name:

1 Write out the first eight rows of Pascal’s triangle,

2 Use your answer to the previous question to expand:

a ( 1−x )6 b ( 2+ x )5 c ( x− y )5 d ( 2 x− yz )4
3 a Expand ( 1−5 x )5 as far as the term in x 2.

b Hence find the coefficient of x 2 in the expansion of ( 3+2 x )( 1−5 x )5 .

4 a Expand ( 1+ x )8

b Hence find the first decimal place of 1.04 8.

5 Expand:

( )
4
1
a ( 5−3 x )4 b ( 4 y−3 )5 c ( 3 x+ 2 y )3 d 2 x− 2
x

n n!
6 Use the result Cr = To evaluate the following. Do not use a calculator – You will
r ! ( n−r ) !
need to un roll the factorial symbol. Check your answers against Pascal’s triangle you
developed in Exercise 16A.
6 8 9 100 101
a C4 b C3 c C6 d C 30 ÷ C30

7 Use your calculator button [n Cr ] to evaluate the following.

a
12
C7 b (146) c
7
C3 d (85) ÷ (53)
12 15
C7 C7
e 7 f 10
C4 C3
8 Use your understanding of the patterns in Pascal’s triangle to simplify the following
expressions:
0 44 44
a C0 b C 4− C 40
4 4 4 4 4 2 n+1 2n 2n
c C 0+ C 1 + C 2+ C 3 + C 4 d Cn − C n− C n−1
n
9 Solve C2=21.

10 Find the coefficient of x 7 in the expansion of ( 2+ x ) (1−4 x )12.

11 a Write out the first few terms in the expansion of ( 1−x )n .

b By an appropriate substitution, prove that:

(n0)−3× ( n1)+ 9× ( n2)−27 ×( n3)+ …= (−2) n

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Chapter 15 The binomial expansion and Pascals’ triangle test

c Verify this result for the row indexed by n=4 in Pascal’s triangle.

n n n n n
12 a Prove that C0 + C1 + C 2+ C 3+ …=2 .

b What is the significance of this result for Pascal’s triangle?

c How may this result be interpreted as a sum of combinations?
n n n n 2 n 3 n n
13 a Differentiate the identity ( 1−x ) = C 0− C1 x+ C 2 x − C3 x + …+ Cn x , then
make a substitution to prove that:

−1 × n C1 +6 × n C 2−27 n C 3−…+ n × ( 3 ) (
n−1 n
Cn ) =−n (−2 )
n−1
.

b Differentiate the identity a second time, then make a substitution, to prove that:

2 ( n C2 ) −18 ( n C3 ) + 108 ( n C 4 ) −…+ n ( n−1 ) ( 3 ) ( Cn ) =n ( n−1 )(−2 )

n−2 n n−1

c Check that the row 1 ,5 ,10 , 10 ,5 , 1 indexed by n=5 obeys these two identities.

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Chapter 15 The binomial expansion and Pascals’ triangle test

Answers
1

2 3 4 5 6
2 a 1−6 x +15 x −20 x + 15 x −6 x + x
2 3 4 5
b 32+80 x +80 x + 40 x +10 x + x
5 4 3 2 2 3 4 5
c x −5 x y +10 x y −10 x y +5 x y − y
4 3 2 2 2 3 3 4 4
d 16 x −32 x yz+ 24 x y z −8 x y z + y z
2
3 a 1−25 x +250 x −…
b 700
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
4 a 1+8 x +28 x +56 x +70 x +56 x + 28 x +8 x + x
b 1.3, first decimal place is 3
2 3 4
5 a 625−1500 x +1350 x −540 x + 81 x
5 4 3 2
b 1024 y −3840 y +5760 y −4320 y +1620 y−243
3 2 2 3
c 27 x +54 x y +36 x y + 8 y
4 24 8 1
d 16 x −32 x + 2
− 5+ 8
x x x
6 a 15

b 56

c 84

71
d
101
7 a 792

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Chapter 15 The binomial expansion and Pascals’ triangle test

b 3003

c 35

28
d
5
792
e
35
429
f
8
8 a 1

b 0

c 16

d 0

9 n=7
10 -22167552

11 a (n0)−(n1) x+(n2) x −(3n) x + …

2 3

b Recognise that the substitution x=3 is needed.

(n0)−(n1) ×3+(n2)×(3) −(n3) ×(3) +…=( 1−3 ) .

2 3 n

(n0)−3× ( n1)+ 9× ( n2)−27 ×( n3)+ …= (−2) .

n

c
We can see that the result corresponds to the 4th row of the Pascal triangle when
a substitution of n=4 is made for the equation found in part a.

(n0)−(n1) x+(n2) x −(3n) x + …

2 3

2 3
1−4 x +6 x −4 x +1.

12 a Expand( 1+ x )n, then make the substitution x=1.

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Chapter 15 The binomial expansion and Pascals’ triangle test

b This shows that the sum of values in row n of the Pascal’s triangle for
n=0 , 1, 2 , 3 , … . will equate to 2 to the power of that row.
c Each individual value of in any row of a Pascal’s triangle is can be represented by
n C r, where n represents the row number (n=0 , 1, 2 , 3 , …) and r represents which
value of the row counting from the left (r =0 ,1 , 2 ,3 ,… ¿ . Hence the sum of the
rows of a Pascal’s triangle can be interpreted as a sum of combinations.

13 a Differentiate the binomial expansion of ( 1−x )n gives:

−n C1 + 2 n C 2 x−3 n C 3 x 2−…+n ( n Cn ) x n−1=−n ( 1−x )

n−1

Make the substitution of x=3.

b Differentiating the identity a second time gives.

2 ( n C2 ) −6 n C 3 x+ 12 n C 4 x 2−…+ n ( n−1 ) ( n C n) x n−2=n ( n−1 ) ( 1−x )

n−1
.

Once again substitute x=3 .

c We can see that when we make substitutions of n=5 to either the first or second
derivative of ( 1−x )n , that the pattern of the binomial expansion has been
maintained.

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