A Brief Overview of the Number-Theoretic and

Probabilistic Applications of the Binomial

Theorem
Ilikeapos
October 2018

1 Overview
We start by defining some key terms.
Binomial Theorem. A theorem that lets us determine the expansion of
(x + y)n
, where x, y, n are

real. The binomial
theorem states that (x + y)n =
n n n−1 n n−k k n n−1
x + 1 x y + ··· + k x y + · · · + n−1 xy + yn .
Exponents. In this text, we will see a lot of numbers in the form ab .
Readers should have a basic understanding of these exponents in the fact that
it’s repeated multiplication.
Binomial Coefficients. Written in the form nr , this denotes the number

of ways to choose a collection of r objects from n total objects, where the objects
are distinct but the order doesn’t matter. We will be using binomial
coefficients
in our proof of the binomial theorem. In general, the formula for nr is r!(n−r)!
n!
.
With that out of the way, let’s prove the Binomial Theorem!

2 Proofs
2.1 - Binomial Theorem. In this section, we aim to prove
the binomial
n n n n−1
theorem. That is, we wish to prove that (x + y) = x + 1 x y + ··· +
n n−k k n


n−1 n
k x y + · · · + n−1 xy + y .
We first write (x + y)n as (x + y)(x + y) · · · (x + y), where (x + y) is repeated
n times. From each of the n terms, we can choose an arbitrary number of

them (say k) to be y, and therefore n − k of them will be x. There are nk
ways to do this, and there are k terms of y (therefore y k ) and n terms of
x (therefore xn−k .) As k
varies from 0 ≤ k
≤ n, we get that (x + y)n =
n n−1
y + · · · + nk xn−k y k + · · · + n−1
n
n


x + 1 x xy n−1 + y n .
2.2 - Binomial Coefficient Formula. In this section, we aim to prove the
binomial coefficient formula. Our claim is that nr = r!(n−r)! n!


. To do this, we
have a collection of n objects. r of them are labeled c for chosen and n − r of
them are labeled l for lucky (because they weren’t chosen).

1
 We now want to compute the number of arrangements of words with r cs
and n − r ls. An arrangement of words for n = 5 and r = 2, for example, would
be llclc.
Now, we look to see what would happen if all the ns and the rs were distinct.
If they were, then there would just be n! ways to write the letters. However,
they aren’t, and we have to correct for the overcounting by division. Since there
are r cs, then there are r! ways to correct for the cs. Similarly, there are (n − r)!
ways to correct for the ls. Therefore, we have that nr = r!(n−r)!n!


, as desired.

3 Example Problems
1. (2011 AMC 10 B 23) Find the hundreds digit of 20112011 .
Solution. For this problem, we write 20112011 as (2010 + 1)2011 . We now
aim to use the binomial theorem.
Writing out the first
few terms of
the binomial expansion, we have that
(2010 + 1)2011 = 1 + 2011 1 · 2010 + 2011
2 · 20102 · · · We notice that anything with
3
a coefficient above 2010 will have the last three digits 000, which doesn’t affect
the hundreds digit. Our
goal is to now find the hundreds digit of (2010+1)2011 =
2011
1 + 1 · 2010 + 2011


2 · 20102 .
The hundreds digit of 1 is obviously 0. The hundreds digit of 2011 · 2010 can
be found by multiplying it out or subtracting 2011 from 20112 . Either way, one
gets that the hundreds digit is 1, with the last three digits being 110.
The hundreds
digit of the third term2011 is
a little harder to compute. We start
by writing 20112
in expanded form – 2
2011!
= 2009!2! . After much cancellation,
2011 2011·2010
we get that 2 = 2 . Now, remember that this is multiplied by 20102 .
3
If we write that as a common denominator, we have a third term of 2011·2010 2 .
Since 20103 is a multiple of 1000, the quantity divided by 2 will have the last
three digits of 500.
Our hundreds digit is therefore 5 + 1 + 0 = 6.
2. (Own) Find the last four digits of 4651100 .
Solution. We’re clearly not going to expand 4651100 . The binomial theorem
worked last time, so let’s try it again!
We can write 4651 as 4650 + 1. We’re now being asked to find the last four
digits of (4650 + 1)100 , which basically means we
have to expand
it. Expanding,
we get that (4650 + 1)100 = 1 + 100 · 4650 + 100 2 100 3
2 · 4650 + 3 · 4650 ... Again,
we have that every term xn where n ≥ 4 is ≡ 0 (mod 10000).
Using the same process as before, we have that the last four digits are 0001.
3. (Own) Ilikeapos was feeling generous, so he decided to give various people
his FTW rating. Currently, his FTW rating is 1765. He decided to give off 11
groups of rating at a time until 1) his positive rating was less than 11 or 2) he
had a rating of exactly 0. One of the twenty-one patrons for donating rating
is pbj2006. pbj2006 took the total number of ways Ilikeapos could distribute
his rating and took it mod 1000, and then presented Ilikeapos with the answer.
What was it?

2
 Solution. First, we find the number of groups that Ilikeapos needs in
order to give off all of his rating. We get that b 1765
11 c = 160. Each of these 160
groups has 21 choices, so what we really want to find is 21160 (mod 1000).
Again, we use the binomial theorem. Not going into much detail here, we
can use basic addition to get 21160 = (20 + 1)160 . After this, we use the binomial
theorem to get the last three digits of 201.

4 Problems
1. In this text, we’ve only used the binomial theorem on numbers in the form
10k + 1, where k is real. Can we generalize this approach to 10 + 2? 10k + 3? If
so, explain how. If not, explain why not. Hints: 5
2. There are 700 colors of balls in a box, labeled c1 , c2 , c3 , · · · c700 . There are
three indistinguishable balls of each color. What is the remainder when the
number of ways there are to distribute the balls among two identical boxes is
divided by 1000? Hints: 2
3. (Source: AoPS MSM) What is the last nonzero digit of 1500 · 2500 · 3500 · 4500 ·
5500 ? Hints: 1, 4
4. When throwing a dart at a dartboard, the probability of it landing in the
51
shaded area is 172 . When you throw a five darts at the dartboard, what is the
probability that they all land in the non-shaded area? When you have computed
your probability, take the last three digits of the numerator and the denominator
and divide the quotient. (For example, if your probability was 3141 5926 , your answer
would be 141
926 .) Hints: 3
5. Three horses are racing in New York State, Florida, and Minnesota. The
races’ outcomes are completely independent from each other. Seven people say
7
horse A will win with probability 12 , while three people say it will win with
2
probability 3 . Coincidentally, the same thing happens with horse B and horse
C. Let A1 , B1 , and C1 be the expected number of times that horse A, B, and
C, respectively, win out of 12 games. What is A1 · B1 · C1 ? If your answer is a
fraction, follow the same procedure as in problem 4.

5 Hints to Selected Problems

1. The problem states to find the last nonzero digit. Can you use this to cancel
some terms?
2. Consider each color separately.
3. Read the problem carefully!
4. 2 · 5 = 10. What do 10 and 0 have in common? Look carefully at the example
problems...
5. Use what is given to you.