If the coefficient of in and the coefficient of in are equal, then is equal to:
- A
- B
- C
- D
If the coefficient of in and the coefficient of in are equal, then is equal to:
Correct answer:A
Standard Method
Given: The coefficients of in
and of in
are equal.
Find: .
For
the general term is
So the power of is
For the term containing ,
Hence the coefficient of is
Equating the Coefficients
For
the general term is
So the power of is
For the term containing ,
Thus the coefficient of is taken as
Equating the two coefficients,
Using
we get
Therefore,
So the correct option is A.
Use Symmetry of Binomial Coefficients
Once the required powers are identified, the key observation is
Since the two coefficients are equal, only the powers of and need to match:
This immediately gives
Hence,
Therefore the correct option is A.
Using the wrong first expression from the given question. The solution clearly works with , not with a denominator containing . Always follow the expression consistently from the worked solution when the source text has a typo.
Finding the correct term number but not the correct power of . In binomial expansions, combine exponents carefully: for the first expansion the power is , and for the second it is .
Forgetting the identity . If this symmetry is missed, unnecessary algebra is introduced and the final simplification becomes error-prone.
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