The Binomial Theorem

JaLena J. Clement
Wolbach, NE

Math in the Middle Institute Partnership

Expository Paper

in partial fulfillment of the MAT Degree

Department of Mathematics
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
July 2008
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Mathematics has a language of its own. What may take paragraphs to explain in words

can be shown with a single equation. The Binomial Theorem concludes with an equation which

makes it easier to expand an expression like (x + y)6. An expression in the mathematical world is

a very general term for any well-formed combination of mathematical symbols, such as variables

and operation signs. If one were to expand this expression without the Binomial Theorem, it

could look like x  6 x  6  x  6  x  6  x  6  x  6  .

Mathematicians thought that there had to be an easier way for expansion, and during the

10th century various Arab mathematicians developed a mathematical series for calculating the

coefficients for 1  x  when n was a positive whole number. The English mathematician Isaac
n

Newton extended it to non-integers (fractions, negatives, etc.) in the 17th century, and so

developed what is known as the Binomial Series. When n is a positive whole number the series

has n + 1 terms and produces

n(n  1) 2 n(n  1)(n  2) 3

1  a n  1  na  a  a  ...  na n 1  a n
2! 3!

the same results as before. However, when n is not a positive whole number then the series goes

on forever.

Newton’s theorem leads us to the Bernoulli inequality, which is an inequality that

Approximates exponents of 1 + x when 1 + x > 0. The inequality is false if 1 + x = 0 and may not

be true if 1 + x < 0. Bernoulli’s inequality is often used as a crucial step in the proof of other

inequalities. The Binomial Theorem expands the left-hand side:

n(n  1) 2 n(n  1)(n  2) 3

1  a n  1  na  a  a  ...  na n 1  a n
2 6

 1  na
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The Bernoulli inequality can also be proven by using mathematical induction.

Mathematical induction is a method of mathematical proof typically used to establish that a

given statement is true of all natural numbers. It is done by proving that the first statement in the

infinite sequence of statements is true, and then proving that if any one statement in the infinite

sequence of statements is true, then so is the next one. The mathematical induction steps to

proving the Bernoulli inequality are as follows:

For n  0,
(1  a) 0  1  0a
is equivalent to 1  1 which is true as required.
Now suppose the statement is true for n  k :
(1  a) k  1  ka.
Then it follows that
(1  a)(1  a) k  (1  a )(1  ka) (by hypothesis, since (1  a )  0)
 (1  a) k 1  1  ka  a  ka 2
 (1  a) k 1  1  (k  1)a  ka 2  1  (k  1 )a (since ka 2  0)
which means the statement is true for n  k  1 as required.
By induction we conclude the statement is true for all n  0.

Another well-known mathematician and significant contributor to the area of

mathematics during the 17th century was Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). At a young age, he was

noted as a child prodigy and was educated by his father, who also had an interest in science and

mathematics. Blaise was forbidden by his father to pursue mathematics until the age of fifteen,

so as to not distract his attention away from the study of the languages of Latin and Greek. Of

course, this sparked Pascal’s boyhood curiosity, and the young lad began asking questions about

geometry to his tutor. In his spare time, the young inventor discovered for himself many

properties of figures, and at the age of twelve Blaise wrote an independent proof that, in

Euclidean geometry, the sum of the angles of a triangle is equal to two right angles. It impressed
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his father so much that soon after, young Pascal was given a copy of Euclid’s Elements from his

father, which he read and soon mastered.

At the age of fourteen, he became part of what is now known as the French Academy.

Being an avid admirer of Desargues’s work and thinking, Pascal wrote “Essay on Conics,” from

which Pascal’s theorem was born. Pascal’s arithmetical triangle shows the number of

coefficients of the expansion of a binomial. However, Pascal was not the first to discover the

triangle, which is shown below. It was known to both the Chinese and Arabs for several hundred

years previously.

1 1 1 1 1

1 2 3 4 5

1 3 6 10 15

1 4 10 20 35

1 5 15 35 70

Each horizontal line is formed from the one above it by making every number in it equal

to the sum of those above and to the left of it in the row immediately above it. For example, the

number 15 (row 3, column 5) is equal to 1 + 4 + 10 or 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 (row 5, column 3) as

demonstrated above. Those in the first line are called numbers of the first order; those in the

second line, natural numbers or numbers of the second order; those in the third line, numbers of

the third order; and so on.

Pascal’s triangle is constructed by drawing a diagonal downwards from right to left. The

numbers in any diagonal give the coefficients of the expansion of a binomial. For example, the

figures in the fifth diagonal (1, 4, 6, 4, 1) are the coefficients of the expansion (a + b)4. Pascal
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used the triangle partly for this purpose and partly to find the numbers of combinations of n

n n!
things taken k at a time. Whenever n is any non-negative integer, we define    ,
 k  k!n  k !

where n! denotes the factorial of n. A factorial is the product of all the whole numbers between 1

and n, including 1 and n. For example, 4! = 4 x 3 x 2 x 1. Pascal’s rule gives a very useful

relationship between numbers defined in this manner. Pascal’s rule demonstrates the recursive

relationship resulting in Pascal’s Triangle because a previous term needs to be known to

 n   n   n 1 
calculate subsequent terms. Pascal’s rule is         , which can be proven in the
 k   k 1   k 1 

following steps:

 n   n   n 1 
    
 k   k 1   k 1 

n! n!
 
k!n  k ! k  1!n  k  1!
 n!k  1 n!n  k  
   
 k!n  k !k  1 k  1!n  k  1!n  k  
 n!k  1  n  k  
  
 k  1!n  k ! 

n  1!
k  1!n  1  k  1!
 n 1 
 
 k 1 

This rule means that two terms that are next to each other in the triangle will be added to create

another term below it.

(taken from Pascal’s Triangle) 20

15 35
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As one can see, drawing the Pascal’s Triangle every time you have to expand a binomial

would be a rather long process, especially if the binomial has a large exponent on it. The

Binomial Theorem is an important formula giving the expansion of powers and sums when the

Pascal triangle would not be recommended. This theorem is a shortcut for raising a binomial to a

power, with the powers increasing in order. One version of the theorem is as follows.

n
n
(a  b) n    a n  k b k
k 0  k 

n n n n

  a n   a n 1b   a n  2 b 2  ...   b n
0 1 2 n

The value (a + b)n is a polynomial in two variables, a and b which is to be expanded. When

expanded, the terms are all “power products” of degree n. Note that when the exponent of a is

added to the exponent of b the result is n.

The binomial coefficient is a coefficient of any of the terms in the expansion of the

n
binomial power 1  x  . Note that the binomial coefficients are given by the expression   .
n

k

The coefficients to any power are symmetric. The symbol Σ is the summation operator.

Summation is the addition of a set of numbers; the result is their sum or total. In working with

the Binomial Theorem, the set of numbers in every expansion will be one more than the

exponent n.

The theorem is a finite series, which means that it stops after a finite number of terms (n)

and the last term is bn. In relating it to the Bernoulli inequality, use a = 1 and b = x. The theorem

then becomes

n
n
(1  x) n    1n  k x k
k 0  k 

n n n n

      x    x 2  ...    x n
0 1 2 n
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The n is the exponent of the expansion; the k indicates which term. An important fact to

remember is that the sum of the exponents of a and b will be n, because (n – k + k = n). Another

important fact is that the powers on a begin with n and decrease to 0, while the powers on b

begin with 0 and increase to n.

n n
Other ways of writing the notation   include C(n, k), nCk, or C   . The C stands for
k k

combinations or choices and is often called the choose function. The mathematical representation

of combinations is as follows:

n!
nCk =
k!n  k !

Combinations are arrangements of objects, without repetition and without regard to order.

Another definition of combination is the number of such arrangements that are possible. In

referring back to the Pascal Triangle, nCk would mean that beginning with the top “1”, go down n

rows and then over to the right k spaces. For example,

PASCAL’S TRIANGLE
5! 5! 5  4  3  2 1
5C2 =    10 1
2!5  2! 2!(3!) 2  1 3  2  1 1 1
1 2 1
1 3 3 1
1 4 6 4 1
1 5 10 10 5 1
1 6 15 20 15 6 1

If the Binomial Theorem statement is written using the “choose” function, the notation is

n
(a  b) n   ( n C r )a n  k b k
k 0

( n C 0 )a n ( n C1 )a n 1b ( n C 2 )a n  2 b 2  ... ( n C n )b n

For example, the Binomial Theorem implies that  x  y  , with n put equal to 0, 1, …, 6, is
n
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( x  y ) 0 ( 0 C 0 )
( x  y )1 (1 C 0 ) x1  (1 C1 ) x11 y
( x  y ) 2 ( 2 C 0 ) x 2 ( 2 C1 ) x 21 y ( 2 C 2 ) x 2 2 y 2
( x  y ) 3 ( 3 C 0 ) x 3  ( 3 C1 ) x 31 y ( 3 C 2 ) x 32 y 2 ( 3 C 3 ) x 33 y 3
( x  y ) 4 ( 4 C 0 ) x 4 ( 4 C1 ) x 41 y ( 4 C 2 ) x 42 y 2 ( 4 C 3 ) x 43 y 3  ( 4 C 4 ) x 4 4 y 4
( x  y ) 5 ( 5 C 0 ) x 5  ( 5 C1 ) x 51 y ( 5 C 2 ) x 52 y 2  ( 5 C 3 ) x 53 y 3 ( 5 C 4 ) x 54 y 4  ( 5 C 5 ) x 55 y 5
( x  y ) 6 ( 6 C 0 ) x 6  ( 6 C1 ) x 61 y  ( 6 C 2 ) x 6 2 y 2  ( 6 C 3 ) x 63 y 3  ( 6 C 4 ) x 6 4 y 4  ( 6 C 5 ) x 65 y 5 ( 6 C 6 ) y 6

Evaluating the coefficients yields the expansions

(x  y) 0  1
(x  y )1  x  y
(x  y ) 2  x 2  2 xy  y 2
(x  y ) 3  x 3  3x 2 y  3xy 2  y 3
(x  y ) 4  x 4  4 x 3 y  6 x 2 y 2  4 xy 3  y 4
(x  y ) 5  x 5  5 x 4 y  10 x 3 y 2  10 x 2 y 3  5 xy 4  y 5
(x  y ) 6  x 6  6 x 5 y  15 x 4 y 2  20 x 3 y 3  15 x 2 y 4  6 xy 5  y 6

In showing this expansion systematically, the coefficients match the numbers in the rows in

Pascal’s Triangle. When the terms of the binomials have a coefficient other than 1, the binomial

coefficients found in the Pascal Triangle are still used as a multiplier as in the binomial (2x + 3)6,

as is shown below.

(1)(2 x) 6  (6)(2 x) 5 (3)  (15)(2 x) 4 (3) 2  (20)(2 x) 3 (3) 3  (15)(2 x) 2 (3) 4  (6)(2 x)(3) 5  (1)(3) 6

In mathematics, we need to know that the Binomial Theorem will work for all cases, not

in just these few instances. Therefore, we need to prove the theorem using mathematical

induction.

The variables a and b are real numbers. The variables m and n are non-negative integers.
1
1
When n = 1 , we have (a  b)1  a  b    a 1k b k .
k 0  k 

For the inductive step, assume the theorem holds when the exponent is m.
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m  m  m m  m   m   m

a  b m   a m   a m 1b   a m  2 b 2   a m  3 b 3 ...   a 2 b m  2   ab m 1    b m
0  1  2 3  m2   m 1   m

Then for n = m + 1

(a  b) m 1  a  b a  b 
m

 m 1 m
  
 a  b  a m  b m    a m k b k  (assume by the induction step)
 k 1  k  

Distribute the a and b by multiplying each times all the terms.

m 1 m m 1 m
   
 a m 1  b m 1  ab m  ba m    a m  k 1b k    a m  k b k 1
k 1  k  k 1  k 

Combine the terms.

m 1 m
m
m  
 a m 1  b m 1    a m  k 1b k    a m k b k 1
k 1  k  k 0  k 

Let j = k + 1 in second sum.

m
m m
m
 a m 1  b m 1    a m  k 1b k    a m 1 j b j
k 1  k  j 1  j 1 

Let j = i and k = i

m
m m
m
 a m 1  b m 1    a m i 1b i    a m 1i b i
i 1  i  i 1  i 1 

Combine the sums.

m
 m   m 
 a m 1  b m 1       a m 1i b i
i 1  i   i 1 

From Pascal’s rule we have

m
 m 1 
 a m 1  b m 1    a m 1i b i
i 1  i 

Which means the statement is true for n = m + 1 as desired. Thus, the Binomial Theorem
is proven by mathematical induction.
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In conclusion, the importance of the Binomial Theorem in the study of

algebra and number theory has been demonstrated, and we have also discussed the proof of the

binomial theorem. The theorem includes a formula which gives the expansion of binomials. Also

related to the Binomial Theorem is Pascal’s Triangle, which gives the binomial coefficients

when binomials are expanded. The Bernoulli inequality, along with Newton’s formula, was used

to help explain and prove the Binomial Theorem.

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References

Binomial coefficient. Retrieved on June 25, 2008, from

http://www.algebra.com/algebra/homework/Inequalities/Binomial-coefficient.htm

Binomial theorem. Retrieved on June 25, 2008, from

http://www.algebra.com/algebra/homework/Inequalities/Binomial-theorem.htm

The Binomial Theorem. Retrieved on June 25, 2008, from

http://www.themathpage.com/aPreCalc/binomial-theorem.htm

The Binomial Theorem. Retrieved on July 1, 2008 from

http://people.richland.edu/james/lecture/m116/sequences/binomial.html

Blaise Pascal. Retrieved on June 25, 2008 from

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpascal.htm?p=1

Bernoulli’s inequality. Retrieved on June 25, 2008 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernoulli’s_inequality