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Difficulty: 2/102024 NMTC 2024 (QII-44)

How many terms are in the expansion of (2x - 1/y)^10?

Guide / Hint

Hint 1: Recall the binomial expansion formula for .

Hint 2: Note that the terms correspond to the index running from 0 to , which always gives terms.

Hint 3: Substitute to find the final number of terms.

Solution

Step 1 (Binomial Theorem): The Binomial Theorem states that for any positive integer , the expansion of is given by:

Step 2 (Count the Terms): The summation index ranges from to . The total number of terms in the expanded form is exactly:

Step 3 (Direct Application): In the expression , the power is . Therefore, the number of terms in the expansion is:

Step 4 (Conclusion): The expansion contains exactly 11 terms.

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