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Concept understanding — Binomial Theorem for Positive Integral Index
The Binomial Theorem for a positive integral index gives a single formula for expanding (a+b)n for any natural number n, without multiplying the bracket out by hand n times: (a+b)n=nC0anb0+nC1an−1b1+nC2an−2b2+⋯+nCna0bn, where the coefficients nC0,nC1,…,nCn are exactly the numbers that appear in Pascal's triangle. The theorem itself is proved using the Principle of Mathematical Induction, with Pascal's rule (kCr+kCr−1=k+1Cr) doing the work of the inductive step. A few structural facts follow immediately from the formula and are worth remembering as a checklist: the expansion always has exactly n+1 terms; the first term is an and the last is bn; in every term the exponents of a and b add up to n; moving along the expansion, the exponent of a steadily falls by one while that of b steadily rises by one; and the coefficients read the same from either end (they are symmetric), which mirrors the left-right symmetry of Pascal's triangle. For the subtraction case, (a−b)n has the same coefficients but with alternating signs, starting positive. This theorem underlies a large family of exam techniques: expanding an explicit power like (x2+3y)5; evaluating expressions like (3+2)4 where the surds partly cancel between a + and a − version; approximating a number like (2.02)5 or (9.9)3 by writing it as (a+b)n with a small b and truncating the series after a few decimal-significant terms; and instantly evaluating an expression that is secretly a full binomial expansion in disguise, such as (2x−1)4+4(2x−1)3(3−2x)+⋯+(3−2x)4, which collapses to [(2x−1)+(3−2x)]4.
[!TLDR] Expand with a=2a,b=−b and row-5 coefficients 1,5,10,10,5,1. [!ANSWER] (2a−b)5=32a5−80a4b+80a3b2−40a2b3+10ab4−b5.
Apply the binomial theorem with a→2a,b→−b,n=5: T1=(2a)5=32a5; T2=5(2a)4(−b)=5⋅16a4⋅(−b)=−80a4b; T3=10(2a)3(−b)2=10⋅8a3⋅b2=80a3b2; T4=10(2a)2(−b)3=10⋅4a2⋅(−b3)=−40a2b3; T5=5(2a)(−b)4=5⋅2a⋅b4=10ab4; T6=(−b)5=−b5. [!ANSWER] (2a−b)5=32a5−80a4b+80a3b2−40a2b3+10ab4−b5.
Substitute a→2a,b→−b into the row-5 binomial expansion, and simplify each power of 2a while tracking the alternating sign pattern from the odd/even powers of −b.
The sign pattern +,−,+,−,+,− (starting positive) is easy to get wrong -- students sometimes flip it starting from the wrong term, or forget that (−b) raised to an even power is positive.