To find the term independent of x (constant term) in (x^a + 1/x^b)^n:

Step 1: Write general term T_{r+1} = C(n,r) * x^{a(n-r)} * x^{-br} = C(n,r) * x^{an - (a+b)r}. Step 2: Set exponent = 0: an - (a+b)r = 0, so r = an/(a+b). Step 3: If r is a non-negative integer <= n, the independent term is C(n, r).

If r is not an integer, there is no term independent of x.