Math: Binomial Theorem
Binomial Theorem is a mathematical formula that allows you to expand expressions in the form of (a+b)^n where a and b are any variables or numbers and n is a positive integer. Using this theorem one is able to find the coefficients and powers of each term in the expanded expression.
Now lets explain this with an example: So we have the expression (a + b)^n and we want to expand it. The Binomial Theorem tells you how to find the coefficient and power of each term.
- The first term(a) will have the coefficient a and be raised to the power of n. So the overall first coefficient is a^n.
- The second term will have the coefficient “nC1”(“n choose 1") which means the number of ways you can choose 1 term from a set of “n” terms. The coefficient of the second term is calculated using nC1 = n! / [(n-1)! * 1!]. The power of a will be decreased by 1 and the power of b is increased by 1. So the second term is “nC1 * a^(n-1) * b¹”.
- The third term will have the coefficient “nC2”(“n choose 2”) which represents the number of ways you can choose 2 terms from a set of “n” terms. nC2 is calculated using nC2 = n! / [(n-2)! * 2!]. The power of a is decreased by 2 , and the power of b will be increased by 2. So the third term is nC2 * a^(n-2) * b².
- This pattern continues until the last term which will have the coefficient “nCn”(“n choose n”) which represents the number of ways you can choose “n” terms from a set of “n” terms. The coefficient is calculated as nCn = n! / [(n-n)! * n!] = 1. The power of a will be decreased by n, and the power of b will be increased by n. So the last term is nCn * a⁰ * b^n, which simplifies to b^n.
To expand the entire expression, you simply add up all the terms obtained from the above steps.
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Now lets move on to how the binomial theorem, pascals triangle and pi are related. They are all connected through their mathematical properties and applications.
Now here’s a simple explanation to understand this:
- Relationship of Binomial Coefficents/Binomial Theorem and Pascals Triangle: The numbers in Pascal’s Triangle are also known as binomial coefficients. These coefficients represent the coefficients of each term in the expanded form of a binomial expression. For example, in the expansion of (a + b)³, the coefficients 1, 3, 3, and 1 correspond to the third row of Pascal’s Triangle. The Binomial Theorem utilizes the binomial coefficients from Pascal’s Triangle to expand expressions of the form (a + b)^n.
- Relationship of Binomial Theorem and Pi: One specific relationship between pi and the binomial theorem which is known as the Wallis Product, which involves an infinite product that uses the binomial coefficients. The Wallis Product allows one to calculate pi by multiplying a sequence of fractions involving binomial coefficients.







