The function satisfies - , and - for all nonnegative integers and . Find .
Solution
We claim . Indeed, the hypothesis holds true for our base cases and , and moreover, . Thus, the final answer is . Here is a way to derive this formula from scratch. The idea is that the second condition harks back to the Pascal's triangle rule, sans some modifications. Write , so then and . Then, letting gives , which is exactly Pascal's rule. We are given the base cases , which is starting "inside" of Pascal's triangle, so .
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