Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2017 / ia / Paper 2 / 9F / a / Solution

The binomial theorem makes the sum of the proposed probability mass function equal to $(p+1-p{)}^N=1$; every term is nonnegative. Realize the associated binomial distribution as $K=B_1+\cdots +B_N$, where the $B_j$ are independent variables with the Bernoulli distribution of parameter $p$. Each has expected value $p$ and variance $p(1-p)$. Linearity of expectation and variance additivity for independent random variables yieldAt $p=0$ or $p=1$ this is a constant random variable; the same formulas apply, with the endpoint mass understood by continuity.