The Binomial reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
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Binomial

In elementary algebra, a binomial is a polynomial with two terms: the sum of two monomials. It is the simplest kind of polynomial.

Examples:

The product of a binomial a + b with a factor c is obtain by distributing the monomial:

The product of two binomials a + b and c + d is obtained by distributing twice:
.

The square of a binomial a + b is
and the square of the binomial a - b is

The binomial can be factored as the product of two other binomials:

A binomial is linear if it is of the form
where a and b are constants and x is a variable.

A complex number is a binomial of the form

where i is the square root of minus one.

The product of a pair of linear binomials a x + b and c x + d is:

A binomial a + b raised to the nth power, represented as
can be expanded by means of the binomial theorem.

See also: completing the square, binomial distribution, binomial coefficient.