Analyzing the Setup
Imagine standing before the expression (2x3+x3)10. It looks intimidating, a fortress of exponents and coefficients.
But in the world of binomial expansion, every fortress has a key. Our goal is to find the sum of coefficients for all positive even powers of x.
The Master Key
To unlock any term in a binomial expansion, we rely on the general term formula:
Tr+1=(rn)an−rbr
Here,
n=10,
a=2x3, and
b=x3. When we substitute these, we get:
Tr+1=(r10)(2x3)10−r(x3)r
By separating the constants from the variables, we find the power of x is 30−4r. This is the heartbeat of our problem.
The Detective Work
We have two constraints: the power must be even, and it must be positive. As we discussed, 30−4r is always even for any integer r.
The real challenge is the positivity constraint: 30−4r>0. This simplifies to 4r<30, or r<7.5.
Since r must be an integer, our valid range is r∈{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7}.
The Elegant Shortcut
Now, we could calculate each of these eight terms, but that is the long road. Instead, let us use the 'Total Sum' trick.
If we set
x=1 in our original expression
(2x3+x3)10, we get:
(2(1)3+3)10=(2+3)10=510
This 510 is the sum of all coefficients from r=0 to r=10. To find our required sum, we simply take this total and subtract the 'forbidden' terms—those where r>7.5, which are r=8,9, and 10.
The Final Calculation
For
r=8, the coefficient is:
(810)2238=45⋅4⋅38=180⋅38=60⋅39
For
r=9, the coefficient is:
(910)2139=10⋅2⋅39=20⋅39
For
r=10, the coefficient is:
(1010)20310=1⋅1⋅310=3⋅39
Adding these gives (60+20+3)⋅39=83⋅39. Thus, our sum is 510−83⋅39.
Comparing this to the given 510−β⋅39, we find β=83. We have conquered the problem with elegance and precision.