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Pascal's Triangle: Paths and Binary Strings

Student Name: Roya Fatima Shahzeb

Student ID: 320129

Colorado State University Global

Course Code: Discrete Mathematics (MTH350)

Instructor: Christy Lowery-Carter

Due Date: Sunday 24, January, 2021

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Option #1: Pascal's Triangle: Paths and Binary Strings

Pascal’s Triangle is a collection of triangular numbers of binomial coefficients name after its creator a
French Mathematician named Blaise Pascal. It is used in statistics, probability theories, combinatorics,
and algebra.

The rows of Pascal's triangle are predictably computed starting with row n = 0 at the top (the 0th
row). The entries in each row are numbered from the left beginning with k = 0. The triangle may
be constructed in the following manner:

In row 0 (the topmost row), there is a unique non-zero entry 1. Each entry of each
subsequent row is constructed by adding the number above and to the left with the number above
and to the right, treating blank entries as 0. For example, the initial number in the first (or any
other) row is 1 (the sum of 0 and 1), whereas the numbers 1 and 3 in the third row are added to
produce the number 4 in the fourth row.
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a. Determine if there are additional paths between the START (number 1

at the top) and end point (leftmost 3). If so, describe them in words, by
tracing the path on the triangle, and as binary strings. Then record all
such binary strings at the ending location.

i.

The above picture shows the first additional path going down first left, then going down right,
then again left. The binary string for this structure would be 010 as going left is 0 right is 1.

ii.

This picture depicts the second and last additional path possible in this triangle. In this picture you start by
going down to the right, then down to the left, then again down to the left. The Binary String is 100.
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b. Find and record at least 5 paths using binary strings between the START
location and numbers in rows 4 and 5. Compare the binary strings for
each number and discuss why those similarities and differences might
exist. Also, explain any connections you notice between the number of
possible paths ending at each location and the corresponding entry of
Pascal's Triangle.

I.

Starting at the top from Row 0 and going down to the 4th row to the left most number 4 the

binary string would be

1. 1000,

2. 0100

3. 0010

4. 0001
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II.

Starting at the top from Row 0 and going down to the 4th row to the middle number 6 the binary

string would be

1. 0011,

2. 1001,

3. 1100,

4. 1010

III.
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Starting at the top from Row 0 and going down to the 4th row to the right most number 4 the

binary string would be

1. 0111,

2. 1011,

3. 1101,

4. 1110

IV.

Starting at the top from Row 0 and going down to the 5th row to the left most number 5 the

binary string would be

1. 00001,

2. 00010,

3. 00100,

4. 01000,

5. 10000
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V.

Starting at the top from Row 0 and going down to the 5th row to the left most number 10 the

binary string would be

1. 00011,

2. 00101,

3. 01001,

4. 10001

5. 11000
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VI.

Starting at the top from Row 0 and going down to the 5th row to the right most number 10 the

binary string would be

1. 01011,

2. 11100,

3. 10110,

4. 11010,

5. 11100
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VII.

Starting at the top from Row 0 and going down to the 5th row to the right most number 5 the

binary string would be

1. 11110,

2. 11101,

3. 11011,

4. 10111,

5. 01111.

c. Discuss what information about an endpoint and the paths leading to it

can be gathered from the length of its binary strings and the number of
1s in them.

The binary codes that determined the paths are all different for the numbers included in rows 4

and 5. This means that all paths are one of a kind to the number it corresponds to. The length of

the binary number that will show will be equal to the number of the row where the endpoint is
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located, so for example at row 4, the binary string of the path will have 4 binary numbers. There

are no implications about the numbers of 1s in the binary codes except that at the left side of the

pascal triangle, more 0s can be observed than 1s, since going down to the left gives 0; whereas,

more 1s can be found in the right side of the pascal triangle, since going down to the right gives

1.

d. Explain the addition rule of Pascal's Triangle in your own words in

terms of the path coding scheme you worked with in this assignment.

Pascal’s triangle is a never-ending equilateral triangle of numbers that follow a rule of adding the
two numbers above to get the number below. Two of the sides are “all 1's” and because the
triangle is infinite, there is no “bottom side.”
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References

http://amsi.org.au/ESA_Senior_Years/SeniorTopic1/1c/1c_2content_4.html

http://discrete.openmathbooks.org/more/mdm/sec_counting-binom.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_triangle#:~:text=In%20mathematics%2C%20Pascal's

%20triangle%20is,theory%2C%20combinatorics%2C%20and%20algebra.

https://www.mathsisfun.com/pascals-triangle.html

http://discrete.openmathbooks.org/dmoi3/sec_comb-proofs.html