x  a

n
 Binomials

x  a
n

x represent a number or letter

a represent a number or letter
n represents a power

For example: (1 + x)2 = or (x + 2)3 =

Binomials Theorem
x  a
n
 1

1 1

1 2 1

1 3 3 1

1 4 6 4 1
1 5 10 10 5 1
This is called Pascal's Triangle and would give us the
coefficients for a binomial expansion of any power if we
extended it far enough.
Fill in the missing numbers for this triangle on your paper
 A binomial is a polynomial with two terms such as x + a. Often
we need to raise a binomial to a power. In this section we'll
explore a way to do just that without lengthy multiplication.
 
0
x  a 1 Can you see a
pattern?
x  a  x  a
1

Can you make a

 x  a   x  2ax  a
2 2 2
guess what the next
one would be?
 x  a   x  3ax  3a x  a
3 3 2 2 3

 
4 4 3 2 2 3 4
x  a  x  4 ax  6 a x  4 a x  a
x  a 
5 5 4 2 3 3 2 4 5
x  __ ax  __ a x  __ a x  __ a x  a
We can easily see the pattern on the x's and the a's. But what about the
coefficients? Make a guess and then as we go we'll see how you did.
 Let's list all of the coefficients on the x's and the a's and look for a pattern.

1
x  a
5
 1x  5ax  10a x  10a x  5a 4 x  1a 5
5 4 2 3 3 2

1+ 1
x  a  1
0
1 +2 + 1
 x  a   1x  1a
1

1 + 3 + 3+ 1
 x  a   1x  2ax  1a
2 2 2

+ + + +
13 4 6 4 1
 x  a   1x  3ax  3a x  1a
3 3 2 2

1 5 10 10 5 1
Can you guess
 
4 4 3 2 2 3 4
x  a  1x  4 ax  6 a x  4 a x  1a the next row?
Example 3: Use Pascal’s Triangle to expand (2a + b)4.

1 0th row
1 1 1st row
1 2 1 2nd row
1 3 3 1 3rd row
1 4 6 4 1 4th row

(2a + b)4 = 1(2a)4 + 4(2a)3b + 6(2a)2b2 + 4(2a)b3 + 1b4

= 1(16a4) + 4(8a3)b + 6(4a2b2) + 4(2a)b3 + b4
= 16a4 + 32a3b + 24a2b2 + 8ab3 + b4
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 9
 Activity #1

1. What is the second term in the

binomial expansion of this expression?

(x + 3)4

2. Find and simplify the fourth term in the expansion of

(3x2 + y3)4 .

3. (3x - 2y)4 =
[Hint: this is the same as (3x + -2y)4 so use a calculator to find the answer and write the whole
expansion for fourth power out for the answer.]