Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.
Concept
Binomial theorem
Summary
In elementary algebra, the binomial theorem (or binomial expansion) describes the algebraic expansion of powers of a binomial. According to the theorem, it is possible to expand the polynomial (x + y)n into a sum involving terms of the form axbyc, where the exponents b and c are nonnegative integers with b + c = n, and the coefficient a of each term is a specific positive integer depending on n and b. For example, for n = 4,
The coefficient a in the term of axbyc is known as the binomial coefficient or (the two have the same value). These coefficients for varying n and b can be arranged to form Pascal's triangle. These numbers also occur in combinatorics, where gives the number of different combinations of b elements that can be chosen from an n-element set. Therefore is often pronounced as "n choose b".
Special cases of the binomial theorem were known since at least the 4th century BC when Greek mathematician Euclid mentioned the special case of the binomial theorem for exponent 2. Greek mathematican Diophantus cubed various binomials, including . Indian mathematican Aryabhata's method for finding cube roots, from around 510 CE, suggests that he knew the binomial formula for exponent 3.
Binomial coefficients, as combinatorial quantities expressing the number of ways of selecting k objects out of n without replacement, were of interest to ancient Indian mathematicians. The earliest known reference to this combinatorial problem is the Chandaḥśāstra by the Indian lyricist Pingala (c. 200 BC), which contains a method for its solution. The commentator Halayudha from the 10th century AD explains this method. By the 6th century AD, the Indian mathematicians probably knew how to express this as a quotient , and a clear statement of this rule can be found in the 12th century text Lilavati by Bhaskara.
The first formulation of the binomial theorem and the table of binomial coefficients, to our knowledge, can be found in a work by Al-Karaji, quoted by Al-Samaw'al in his "al-Bahir".
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related publications (1)
Related concepts (59)
Pascal's triangle
In mathematics, Pascal's triangle is a triangular array of the binomial coefficients arising in probability theory, combinatorics, and algebra. In much of the Western world, it is named after the French mathematician Blaise Pascal, although other mathematicians studied it centuries before him in Persia, India, China, Germany, and Italy. The rows of Pascal's triangle are conventionally enumerated starting with row at the top (the 0th row). The entries in each row are numbered from the left beginning with and are usually staggered relative to the numbers in the adjacent rows.
Exponentiation
In mathematics, exponentiation is an operation involving two numbers, the base and the exponent or power. Exponentiation is written as bn, where b is the base and n is the power; this is pronounced as "b (raised) to the (power of) n". When n is a positive integer, exponentiation corresponds to repeated multiplication of the base: that is, bn is the product of multiplying n bases: The exponent is usually shown as a superscript to the right of the base.
Binomial theorem
In elementary algebra, the binomial theorem (or binomial expansion) describes the algebraic expansion of powers of a binomial. According to the theorem, it is possible to expand the polynomial (x + y)n into a sum involving terms of the form axbyc, where the exponents b and c are nonnegative integers with b + c = n, and the coefficient a of each term is a specific positive integer depending on n and b. For example, for n = 4, The coefficient a in the term of axbyc is known as the binomial coefficient or (the two have the same value).
Related MOOCs (2)
Trigonometric Functions, Logarithms and Exponentials
Ce cours donne les connaissances fondamentales liées aux fonctions trigonométriques, logarithmiques et exponentielles. La présentation des concepts et des propositions est soutenue par une grande gamm
Trigonometric Functions, Logarithms and Exponentials
Ce cours donne les connaissances fondamentales liées aux fonctions trigonométriques, logarithmiques et exponentielles. La présentation des concepts et des propositions est soutenue par une grande gamm