Arrow-chasing in Pascal's triangle -- Visual proofs for summation formulas involving binomial coefficients
General Mathematics
2025-08-25 v1
Abstract
This article demonstrates, using numerous examples of varying complexity, how one can visually prove summation formulas involving binomial coefficients by exclusively using the recurrence relation for binomial coefficients and its illustration through arrows in Pascal's triangle. The method developed for this purpose, which we call "arrow-chasing", is elementary and it is accessible to a very broad audience.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2508.16388,
title = {Arrow-chasing in Pascal's triangle -- Visual proofs for summation formulas involving binomial coefficients},
author = {Regula Krapf},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.16388},
year = {2025}
}