OCR MEI AS Paper 1 Specimen — Question 2 3 marks

Exam BoardOCR MEI
ModuleAS Paper 1 (AS Paper 1)
SessionSpecimen
Marks3
PaperDownload PDF ↗
Mark schemeDownload PDF ↗
TopicBinomial Theorem (positive integer n)
TypeStandard binomial expansion coefficient
DifficultyEasy -1.2 This is a straightforward application of the binomial theorem requiring identification of the correct term and simple calculation. It's easier than average as it involves only one step (finding one coefficient) with small numbers, though students must handle the negative sign correctly.
Spec1.04a Binomial expansion: (a+b)^n for positive integer n

2 Find the coefficient of \(x ^ { 4 }\) in the binomial expansion of \(( x - 3 ) ^ { 5 }\).

Question 2:
AnswerMarks Guidance
\(-15\)B3 B2 for 15 or \(5 \times (-3)^1\) or better; OR B1 for 5 or 1 5 10 10 5 1 row of Pascal's triangle seen. Do not accept \(_5C_4\) as a correct element without evaluation to 5
**Question 2:**

$-15$ | **B3** | **B2** for 15 or $5 \times (-3)^1$ or better; **OR B1** for 5 or 1 5 10 10 5 1 row of Pascal's triangle seen. Do not accept $_5C_4$ as a correct element without evaluation to 5 | [3 marks total]

---
2 Find the coefficient of $x ^ { 4 }$ in the binomial expansion of $( x - 3 ) ^ { 5 }$.

\hfill \mbox{\textit{OCR MEI AS Paper 1  Q2 [3]}}