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JEE Main 2023 · Mathematics · Binomial Theorem · hard

The coefficient of x^10 in the expansion of (1+x^2-x^3^8 is

Numerical answer

The coefficient of x10x^{10} in the expansion of (1+x2−x3)8(1+x^2-x^3)^8 is
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Answer: 476

Choose aa factors contributing x2x^2 and bb factors contributing −x3-x^3, the remaining 8−a−b8-a-b contributing 11. The power of xx is 2a+3b=102a+3b=10, so bb must be even: b=0b=0 gives a=5a=5, and b=2b=2 gives a=2a=2 (b=4b=4 would need a<0a<0). The multinomial coefficients are 8!5! 0! 3!=56\frac{8!}{5!\,0!\,3!}=56 for (a,b)=(5,0)(a,b)=(5,0), and 8!2! 2! 4! (−1)2=420\frac{8!}{2!\,2!\,4!}\,(-1)^2=420 for (2,2)(2,2). The coefficient is 56+420=47656+420=476, which agrees with a symbolic expansion.
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