International A Level (IAL) Edexcel Maths 2 hours 39 questions
Exam Questions
Binomial Expansion
Binomial Expansion
Easy (9 questions) /28
Medium (10 questions) /40 Scan here to return to the course
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Hard (10 questions) /38
Very Hard (10 questions) /40
Total Marks /146
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Easy Questions
1 Evaluate
(i) 4!
(ii) 5 C
2
(iii) 6 C
3
Answer
(3 marks)
2 Show that, for all values of k ,
kC =k
1
Answer
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(2 marks)
3 Expand (x + 2) 4 .
Answer
(3 marks)
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4 Find the first three terms, in ascending powers of x , in the expansion of (3 + 2x ) 8 .
Answer
(3 marks)
5 Find the coefficient of the x 2 term in the expansion of (2 − x ) 5 .
Answer
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(3 marks)
6 Expand . (2x − 3) 6 .
Answer
(3 marks)
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7 In the expansion of (p + x ) 12 , the coefficient of the x 5 term is 12 976 128. Find the value of
p.
Answer
(3 marks)
8 (a) Find the first three terms in the expansion of (5 + 2x ) 5 .
Answer
Use the binomial expansion formula
Substitute , and into the first three terms of the formula
Find the binomial coefficients e.g. using the button on your calculator or Pascal's
triangle
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[M1]
Substitute these into the formula and simplify
Remember to use index laws, e.g.
[M1 A1]
(3 marks)
(b) Use your answer to part (a) to estimate the value of (5 . 04) 5 .
Answer
Use the expansion from part (a) of
Think of as i.e. so
Substitute into and simplify
3252
[M1 A1]
Mark Scheme and Guidance
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"3250 to 3 s.f." is also accepted.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
You can check (5 . 04) 5 directly on your calculator, 3252. 016 . . . to see if your
estimate is along the right lines!
(2 marks)
9 In the expansion of (p + x ) 4 , where p is a non-zero constant, the coefficient of the x 2 term
is twice the coefficient of the x term. Find the value of p .
Answer
(3 marks)
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Medium Questions
1 Expand (2 + x ) 4 .
Answer
(3 marks)
2 Find the coefficient of the term in x 3 in the expansion of (2 − x ) 8 .
Answer
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(3 marks)
3 (a) Find the first three terms, in ascending powers of x , in the expansion of (3 + x ) 4 .
Answer
(3 marks)
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(b) Use your answer to part (a) to estimate (3 . 1) 4 .
Answer
(2 marks)
4 In the expansion of ( a − x ) 4 , the coefficient of the x 2 term is 96. Given that a > 0 , find the
value of a .
Answer
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(2 marks)
5 (a) Find the first three terms in the expansion of (9 − 2x ) 5 .
Answer
(3 marks)
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(b) Use your answer to part (a) to estimate (8 . 9) 5 .
Answer
(2 marks)
6 In the expansion of ( a − 2x ) 5 , the coefficient of the x 2 term is equal to the coefficient of the
x 3 term. Find the value of a .
Answer
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(4 marks)
7 In the expansion of (3 + px ) 6 , the coefficient of the x 4 term is four times the coefficient of
the x 2 term. Find the possible values of p .
Answer
(3 marks)
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8 (a) Find the first three terms in the expansion of (3 + 2x ) 8 .
Answer
(3 marks)
(b) Given that x is small such that x 3 and higher powers of x can be ignored show that
(1 + x ) (3 + 2x ) 8 ≈ 6561 + 41553x + 116640x 2
Answer
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(3 marks)
9 In the expansion of (p + qx ) 5 , the coefficients of the x 2 term and the x 3 term are equal.
Find p in terms of q .
Answer
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(4 marks)
10 (a) In the expansion of ( a + bx ) 4 , the coefficient of the x 2 term is equal to the coefficient of the
x 3 term.
a 2
Show that = .
b 3
Answer
(3 marks)
(b) Given that a and b are integers, and that 10 < b < 15 , find the values of a and b .
Answer
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(2 marks)
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Hard Questions
1 Fully expand (4 − x ) 4 .
Answer
(3 marks)
1
2 Fully expand (2 − 3 x ) 4 .
Answer
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(4 marks)
3 Find the coefficient of the term in x 4 in the expansion of (3 + 2x ) 9 .
Answer
(3 marks)
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4 (a) Find the first three terms, in ascending powers of x , in the expansion of (5 − 2x ) 4 .
Answer
(3 marks)
(b) Use your answer to part (a) to estimate (4 . 5) 4 .
Answer
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(2 marks)
5 In the expansion of (4 − px ) 6 , the coefficient of the x 4 term is 19 440. Given that p is a
positive integer find the value of p .
Answer
(3 marks)
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6 In the expansion of (3a − 2x ) 6, the coefficient of the x 3 term is equal to the coefficient of
the x 4 term. Find the value of a .
Answer
(3 marks)
7 (a) Find the first three terms in the expansion of (2 − 3x ) 7 .
Answer
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(3 marks)
(b) Given that x is small such that x 3 and higher powers of x can be ignored show that
(1 − 2x ) (2 − 3x ) 7 ≈ 128 − 1600x + 8736x 2
Answer
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(3 marks)
8 In the expansion of (p + qx ) 8 , the coefficients of the x 2 term and the x 6 term are equal.
Find p in terms of q .
Answer
(3 marks)
9 In the expansion of (1 + x ) n , the coefficient of the x 3 term is 84.
Find the value of n .
Answer
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(3 marks)
10 In the expansion of ( a + bx ) 4, the coefficient of the x 3 term is 216.
In the expansion of ( a + bx ) 6, the coefficient of the x 4 term is 4860.
Find the possible values of a and b .
Answer
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(5 marks)
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Very Hard Questions
1 Expand . (3 − 2x ) 5
Answer
(3 marks)
2 Find the coefficient of the term in x 4 in the expansion of (4 − 3x ) 7 . .
Answer
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(3 marks)
3 Given that n C = 35 find the value of n .
3
Answer
(3 marks)
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4 (a) Use the first three terms, in ascending powers of x , in the expansion of (3 − 5x ) 4 to find an
approximation for (2 . 6) 4 .
Answer
(5 marks)
(b) Using your calculator, find the percentage error in the approximation from part (a) to the
exact value of (2 . 6) 4 .
Answer
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(2 marks)
1
5 In the expansion of ( m − 4 x ) 5 , the coefficient of the x 3 term is -10. Find the possible
values of m.
Answer
(3 marks)
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1
6 In the expansion of (3a + 2 x ) 6 , the coefficient of the x 3 term is equal to the coefficient of
m
the x 5 term. Find the values of a , giving your answers in the form , where m and n
n
are integers to be found.
Answer
(3 marks)
7 (a) Find the first three terms in the expansion of (4 − 3x ) 9 .
Answer
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(3 marks)
(b) Given that x is small such that x 3 and higher powers of x can be ignored show that
(3 − 2x 2) (4 − 3x ) 9 ≈ 786432 − 5308416x + 15400960x 2
Answer
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(3 marks)
8 In the expansion of (p + qx ) 9 , the coefficient of the x 3 term is double that of the x 5 term.
Find p in terms of q .
Answer
(3 marks)
9 In the expansion of (1 − 3x ) n , the coefficient of the x 3 term is -3240.
Find the value of n .
Answer
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(4 marks)
10 In the expansion of ( a + bx ) 8, the coefficient of the x 5 term is -870 912.
In the expansion of ( a + bx ) 12 , the coefficient of the x 3 term is -1 557 135 360.
Find the possible values of a and b .
Answer
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(5 marks)
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