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Exercise 811Combinatorics › Binomial coefficientsL1Added 3 Nov 2026

Polynomial expansion with binomials

#polynomial#coefficient#binomial

Statement

Find the coefficient of x5x^5 in (1+x)3(1−x)7(1+x)^3(1-x)^7.

Hint

Expand each factor and take the convolution.

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Solution

Expansion. (1+x)3=∑i(3i)xi(1+x)^3=\sum_i\binom{3}{i}x^i, (1−x)7=∑j(7j)(−1)jxj(1-x)^7=\sum_j\binom{7}{j}(-1)^jx^j.

Coefficient of x5x^5. ∑i+j=5(3i)(7j)(−1)j\sum_{i+j=5}\binom{3}{i}\binom{7}{j}(-1)^j.

Compute.
- i=0,j=5i=0,j=5: 1⋅21⋅(−1)=−211\cdot21\cdot(-1)=-21
- i=1,j=4i=1,j=4: 3⋅35=1053\cdot35=105
- i=2,j=3i=2,j=3: 3⋅35⋅(−1)=−1053\cdot35\cdot(-1)=-105
- i=3,j=2i=3,j=2: 1⋅21=211\cdot21=21

Sum: −21+105−105+21=0-21+105-105+21=0.

Conclusion. The coefficient of x5x^5 is 00.