| | {{ 'ml-lesson-number-slides' | message : article.intro.bblockCount }} |
| | {{ 'ml-lesson-number-exercises' | message : article.intro.exerciseCount }} |
| | {{ 'ml-lesson-time-estimation' | message }} |
Here are a few recommended readings before getting started with this lesson.
Two good friends, Diego and Maya, like to challenge each other on math related topics. One summer afternoon, Diego came up with an interesting problem.
See solution.
Let be an arbitrary integer. Find the difference of the squares of and its consecutive integer.
Remember that the division of an even number by two always result on an integer.
After solving Diego's challenge, Maya now creates one for Diego. She asks him to prove that the difference of the cubes of any two consecutive integers is also an odd number.
See solution.
To prove this statement, consider an even number where is any integer. Its consecutive number is and its previous number is Consider the difference of the cubes of and and the difference of and
| Expression | Is it an Integer? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | It is defined this way. | |
| Yes | Closure Property of Multiplication | |
| Yes | Closure Property of Multiplication | |
| Yes | Closure Property of Multiplication | |
| Yes | Closure Property of Subtraction | |
| No | is not an integer |
Since dividing by did not result in an integer number, the expression which is the difference of the cubes of and is odd.
Diego, engulfed by Maya's last challenge, asks if she could create another one for him. This time, Maya asks Diego to prove that the square of the sum of two consecutive integers is odd.
See solution.
Let and be two consecutive integers. Find their sum, calculate its square, and prove that the obtained result is odd.
Remember that the division of an even number by two always result on an integer.
Pascal's triangle is a triangular representation of the coefficients in the expansion of a binomial expression. In other words, it contains the coefficients that result when expanding the expression with
The rows are numbered from top to bottom starting with The number in each cell equals the sum of the numbers in the two neighboring cells above.
The numbers in the Pascal's Triangle have an interesting application. Consider the following binomial expansions.
Looking at the coefficients of the binomial expansions, it can be noted that every number of a row in the Pascal's Triangle is the same as the coefficients of a binomial expansion.
This is expressed in the Binomial Theorem.
Consider a binomial raised to the power of where is a positive integer. Let and be real numbers. Expanding the binomial results in the following expression.
Maya, feeling like she challenged Diego well, remembers that her mom asked her to measure her room for new wallpaper. She has to take a phone call, so she asks Diego if he can take the measurements. The room is in the shape of a cube. Diego hands over the measurements to her — he wrote them as a challenge!
Use the Binomial Theorem to expand the binomial.
It's Diego's birthday, and without fail, Maya has gotten him a cool present. Diego is so excited to open it, but there is a problem. The gift has a lock that asks for a combination that he does not have!
Consider the Binomial Theorem.
The Binomial Theorem indicates that the coefficients in the expansion of coincide with the numbers in the ninth row of Pascal's Triangle.
The fifth term in the expansion of the binomial raised to the ninth power matches the fifth number in the ninth row of Pascal's Triangle.
The terms of the polynomial are counted starting from the term this being the first one. The variables for each consecutive term are obtained by subtracting one from the exponent of and adding one to the exponent of The coefficients are the same as the numbers in the ninth row of Pascal's Triangle.
| term | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Term | Coefficient | Variables | Value of Term |
Therefore, the fifth term is
Use the Binomial Theorem to find the coefficients of every term.
The Binomial Theorem indicates that the coefficients in the expansion of are the numbers in the sixth row of Pascal's Triangle.
Now the terms for and have to be identified. To identify these terms, every term of the binomial expansion is determined using the Binomial Theorem.
| Number of Term | Coefficient | Variables | Value of Term |
|---|---|---|---|
Write as a product of fractions
Calculate quotient
Identity Property of Multiplication
Rearrange equation