Binomial Theorem and Pascal’s Triangle

Example 1: Distributing

a) Expand  x  1
2

b) Expand  a  b 
2

c) Expand  x  1
3

n!
Cr 
r! n  r !
n
Example 2: Combinations:

a) Evaluate 5 C3 .

b) Evaluate 5 C5 .

c) Evaluate 5 C0 .

_______________________________ is a geometric arrangement of the _______________________________

in a triangle.
What’s “binomial”?

What’s “coefficient”?

Let’s create Pascal’s Triangle:

Example 3: Use Pascal’s Triangle to expand  a  b 
2

Example 4: Use Pascal’s Triangle to expand  a  b 

6

Example 5: Use Pascal’s Triangle to expand  x  2 

4

Binomial Theorem: For every positive integer n,

n
 a  b  n   n C k  a nk  b k
k 0

Huh?
It’s more trouble than it’s worth. Use Pascal’s Triangle to get the job done.
Example 6: CST Practice Questions

#66 Expand  3 y  4
4

#68 What are the first four terms of 1  2 x  ?

6
 
#67 How many terms does the binomial expansion of x  2 y
2 3
 20
have?