Question

Explain how you can use the terms from the binomial expansion to approximate 0.985.

Answer 1

There are 5 + 1 = 6 terms in the binomial expansion of (1−0.02)5, and since the 4th term is approximately 0, the 5th and 6th terms are also approximately 0. So, approximate the value of 0.985 by adding the first three terms: 1 + (-0.1) + 0.004 = 0.904.