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Concept
Binomial coefficient
Summary
In mathematics, the binomial coefficients are the positive integers that occur as coefficients in the binomial theorem. Commonly, a binomial coefficient is indexed by a pair of integers n ≥ k ≥ 0 and is written It is the coefficient of the xk term in the polynomial expansion of the binomial power (1 + x)n; this coefficient can be computed by the multiplicative formula
which using factorial notation can be compactly expressed as
For example, the fourth power of 1 + x is
and the binomial coefficient is the coefficient of the x2 term.
Arranging the numbers in successive rows for gives a triangular array called Pascal's triangle, satisfying the recurrence relation
The binomial coefficients occur in many areas of mathematics, and especially in combinatorics. The symbol is usually read as "n choose k" because there are ways to choose an (unordered) subset of k elements from a fixed set of n elements. For example, there are ways to choose 2 elements from namely and
The binomial coefficients can be generalized to for any complex number z and integer k ≥ 0, and many of their properties continue to hold in this more general form.
Andreas von Ettingshausen introduced the notation in 1826, although the numbers were known centuries earlier (see Pascal's triangle). In about 1150, the Indian mathematician Bhaskaracharya gave an exposition of binomial coefficients in his book Līlāvatī.
Alternative notations include C(n, k), nCk, nCk, Ckn, Cnk, and Cn,k in all of which the C stands for combinations or choices. Many calculators use variants of the C notation because they can represent it on a single-line display. In this form the binomial coefficients are easily compared to k-permutations of n, written as P(n, k), etc.
For natural numbers (taken to include 0) n and k, the binomial coefficient can be defined as the coefficient of the monomial Xk in the expansion of (1 + X)n. The same coefficient also occurs (if k ≤ n) in the binomial formula
(valid for any elements x, y of a commutative ring),
which explains the name "binomial coefficient".
Official source
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