Homework 5

MACM 201 (Spring 2015)

The quiz covering this material is on Wednesday, February 25, 2015 in class.
About this section
This homework covers the material from lectures 14, 15 and 16.
Question 4 asks you to show a binomial identity directly from the definition of binomial
coefficients. This should give you practice with manipulating expressions involving factorials.
Questions
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)

Grimaldi section 9.3 #5

Grimaldi section 9.3 #7
Grimaldi section 10.1 #1
Grimaldi section 10.1 #2
Grimaldi section 10.2 #1 (a),(b),(c),(d)
Grimaldi section 10.2 #4
Grimaldi section 10.2 #5
Grimaldi section 10.2 #12
Grimaldi section 10.2 #32



n1

A binomial identity is a valid equation, such as nk = n1
, that regards bik1
k


P
P
n
i
nomial coefficients k . Recall that, if A(x) = i0 ai x and B(x) = k0 bk xk are
power series, then the coefficient of xn in A(x)B(x) (which we write as [xn ]A(x)B(x))
is computed by the following convolution.
n
X
n
[x ]A(x)B(x) =
aj bnj .
j=0

We use this fact in part (d) and (e) below, to obtain an identity regarding binomial
coefficients.
(a) What is [x7 ](1 + x)20 ?
(b) What is [xk ](1 + x)8 ?
(c) What is [xj ](1 + x)12 ?
(d) Using parts (b) and (c) and the fact 20 = 8 + 12, but not part (a), find another
expression for [x7 ](1 + x)20 .
(e) Your answers from parts (a) and (d) are both valid so they must be equal. Write
down the binomial identity this gives.
(11) (a) Show that
1
 
(1)k+1 2k
2
.
= k
k
4 (2k 1) k
Hint: Cancel out and collect powers of 2. It may help, at some point, to multiply
your expression by 1 = (2)(4)(2k)
.
(2)(4)(2k)
(b) Use the binomial theorem, and your formula of part (a),
to compute the first
4
five terms (up to the term a4 x ) of the power series for 1 + 4x.
1

(12) (a) Find a closed form for the generating function C(x) for counting compositions
with k parts, where each part is an odd number? (Dont confuse compositions
and partitions!)
(b) Compute the coefficient of xn in your answer to part (a) to show that the number
of compositions of n in to k parts, where each part is an odd number, equals

if n k is odd
0

n+k
1
.
2

if n k is even

nk
2