The coefficient of x12 in (x3 + x4 + x5 + x6 + )3 is …
Topic-wise GATE CS PYQs with verified steps
GATE CSE 2016 Set 1 · Q26
Time
Your answerNumerical answer
Solution
Official answer: 10 (±0)
CombinatoricsWe want to find the coefficient of in the expansion of:
Factor out from each term in the product:
Finding the coefficient of in is equivalent to finding the coefficient of in .
Using the binomial series expansion:
For and :
Thus, the coefficient of is 10.
Try the question first, then check your work.
Examiner trap
Factor out from the series to reduce the problem to finding the coefficient of in .
This Combinatorics previous year question is Q26 of the GATE CSE 2016 Set 1 paper. Find more GATE CSE PYQs on Combinatorics in Engineering Mathematics, or browse all GATE CSE PYQs.
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Combinatorics has 19 GATE CSE PYQs across 15 papers from 2012 to 2025. 7 of them are 2-mark NAT questions like this one, and GATE CSE 2016 Set 1 has 2.
How GATE tests CombinatoricsIndependent practice explanation verified by the GateAI team. GATE is conducted by the IITs; question text follows the official paper.