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Exercise 803Combinatorics › Binomial coefficientsHigh schoolAdded 3 Nov 2026

Expansion of a large binomial

#binomial#expansion#coefficients

Statement

Find the coefficient of x3x^3 in (1+2x)7(1−x)5(1+2x)^7(1-x)^5.

Hint

Expand each factor and convolve.

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Solution

Expansion. (1+2x)7=∑i(7i)2ixi(1+2x)^7=\sum_i\binom{7}{i}2^ix^i, (1−x)5=∑j(5j)(−1)jxj(1-x)^5=\sum_j\binom{5}{j}(-1)^jx^j.

Coefficient of x3x^3. ∑i+j=3(7i)2i(5j)(−1)j\sum_{i+j=3}\binom{7}{i}2^i\binom{5}{j}(-1)^j.

Compute.
- i=0,j=3i=0,j=3: 1⋅1⋅10⋅(−1)=−101\cdot1\cdot10\cdot(-1)=-10
- i=1,j=2i=1,j=2: 7⋅2⋅10⋅1=1407\cdot2\cdot10\cdot1=140
- i=2,j=1i=2,j=1: 21⋅4⋅5⋅(−1)=−42021\cdot4\cdot5\cdot(-1)=-420
- i=3,j=0i=3,j=0: 35⋅8⋅1=28035\cdot8\cdot1=280

Sum: −10+140−420+280=−10-10+140-420+280=-10.

Conclusion. The coefficient is −10-10.