Add Em Up Binomial Theorem Activity

Put your knowledge of binomial expansion and Pascal’s Triangle to the test with this fun Add Em Up Binomial Theorem Activity.

AP Precalculus Standard Addressed

This Add Em Up Activity is designed for AP Precalculus students working on topic 1.11 (Equivalent Representations of Polynomial and Rational Functions).

According to College Board’s Course and Exam Description, students are expected to “Rewrite the repeated product of binomials using the binomial theorem.”

Even though I created this activity with AP Precalculus in mind, it could be used in any math course which covers binomial expansion and Pascal’s Triangle. You might find my free printable Pascal’s Triangle templates to be useful during this unit as well.

Add Em Up Activity Instructions and Options

Students are provided with four binomial theorem problems to answer. These four problems are laid out in a 2 x 2 grid with a circle at the center.

Each problem is gives students a binomial raised to a certain power. It then asks them to determine the coefficient of a specific term in the expanded polynomial. This task aligns with one of the sample problems provided by College Board for this topic.

Students must work all four problems and find the sum of their four answers. We call this the “Add Em Up” step.

There are two options for this activity. You can provide students with the template that tells them the sum that their answers should add up to.

The benefit of this option is it allows for students to self-check themselves. If their sum doesn’t equal 732, they need to rework their four problems and look for their mistake(s).

There is also a page provided that can be given to students that gives them a place to write in the sum after they find it. Students can then bring their sum to the teacher for verification.

Suggestions for Using in Class

This activity is meant to only take 5-10 minutes of class. It would make a great exit ticket activity or a “let’s see what you remember from yesterday” opening activity.

My school does a bit of a non-traditional set-up where students learn asynchronously on Mondays. My students will be teaching themselves to expand binomials by watching a Loom video I prepared for them.

I plan to use this on the very next day when they come in class to get a sense of how well they understood their “Digital Monday Lesson.”

I will be making a class set of these Add Em Up Activities and placing them in dry erase pockets for students to write on.