Part of ALG-06 — Binomial Theorem

Binomial Coefficient Identities

by Notetube Officialdetailed summary280 words11 views

The binomial coefficients satisfy a rich collection of identities, most derivable from (1+x)^n by substitution or calculus.

Substitution identities: x=1 gives sum = 2^n. x=-1 gives alternating sum = 0. Adding/subtracting: even-indexed sum = odd-indexed sum = 2^{n-1}. x=i gives real part = C0C_0 - C2C_2 + C4C_4 - ... = 2^{n/2}*cosnpi4\frac{n*pi}{4}. Cube roots of unity filter: (2^n + (1+omega)^n + (1+omega2omega^2)^n)/3 = C0C_0 + C3C_3 + C6C_6 + ...

Differentiation identities: Differentiating (1+x)^n gives n(1+x)^{n-1} = sum rC(n,r)xr1x^{r-1}. At x=1: n2^{n-1} = sum rC(n,r). Second derivative at x=1: n(n-1)*2^{n-2} = sum r(r-1)*C(n,r). Combined: sum r2r^2*C(n,r) = n(n+1)*2^{n-2}.

Integration identity: Integrating from 0 to 1 gives 2n+11(n+1)\frac{2^{n+1}-1}{(n+1)} = sum Cn,r(r+1)\frac{n,r}{(r+1)}. Integrating (1-x)^n gives 1n+1\frac{1}{n+1} = sum (-1)^r*Cn,r(r+1)\frac{n,r}{(r+1)}.

Product identities: Vandermonde's identity C(m+n,r) = sum C(m,k)*C(n,r-k). Special case: sum C(n,r)^2 = C(2n,n). Hockey stick: sumk=rnsum_{k=r}^{n} C(k,r) = C(n+1,r+1).

The key rC(n,r) = nC(n-1,r-1) identity converts weighted sums into standard sums, making it one of the most useful tools. Similarly, r(r-1)*C(n,r) = n(n-1)*C(n-2,r-2).

Want to generate AI summaries of your own documents? NoteTube turns PDFs, videos, and articles into study-ready summaries.

Sign up free to create your own