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Combinations and Permutations

What's the Difference?


In English we use the word "combination" loosely, without thinking if the order of things is important. In other words: "My fruit salad is a combination of apples, grapes and bananas" We don't care what order the fruits are in, they could also be "bananas, grapes and apples" or "grapes, apples and bananas", its the same fruit salad. "The combination to the safe was 472". Now we do care about the order. "724" would not work, nor would "247". It has to be exactly 4-7-2. So, in Mathematics we use more precise language: If the order doesn't matter, it is a Combination. If the order does matter it is a Permutation.

So, we should really call this a "Permutation Lock"!

In other words:

A Permutation is an ordered Combination.

To help you to remember, think "Permutation ... Position"

Permutations
There are basically two types of permutation:

Repetition is Allowed: such as the lock above. It could be "333". No Repetition: for example the first three people in a running race. You can't be first and second.

1. Permutations with Repetition


These are the easiest to calculate. When you have n things to choose from ... you have n choices each time!

When choosing r of them, the permutations are: n n ... (r times) (In other words, there are n possibilities for the first choice, THEN there are n possibilites for the second choice, and so on, multplying each time.) Which is easier to write down using an exponent of r: n n ... (r times) = n
r

Example: in the lock above, there are 10 numbers to choose from (0,1,..9) and you choose 3 of them: 10 10 ... (3 times) = 103 = 1,000 permutations So, the formula is simply:

nr
where n is the number of things to choose from, and you choose r of them (Repetition allowed, order matters)

2. Permutations without Repetition


In this case, you have to reduce the number of available choices each time.

For example, what order could 16 pool balls be in? After choosing, say, number "14" you can't choose it again.

So, your first choice would have 16 possibilites, and your next choice would then have 15 possibilities, then 14, 13, etc. And the total permutations would be: 16 15 14 13 ... = 20,922,789,888,000 But maybe you don't want to choose them all, just 3 of them, so that would be only: 16 15 14 = 3,360 In other words, there are 3,360 different ways that 3 pool balls could be selected out of 16 balls. But how do we write that mathematically? Answer: we use the "factorial function"

The factorial function (symbol: ) just means to multiply a series of descending natural numbers. Examples:

4! = 4 3 2 1 = 24 7! = 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 = 5,040 1! = 1

Note: it is generally agreed that 0! = 1. It may seem funny that multiplying no numbers together gets you 1, but

it helps simplify a lot of equations. So, if you wanted to select all of the billiard balls the permutations would be: 16! = 20,922,789,888,000 But if you wanted to select just 3, then you have to stop the multiplying after 14. How do you do that? There is a neat trick ... you divide by 13! ... 16 15 14 13 12 ... = 16 15 14 = 3,360 13 12 ... Do you see? 16! / 13! = 16 15 14 The formula is written:

where n is the number of things to choose from, and you choose r of them (No repetition, order matters)

Examples:
Our "order of 3 out of 16 pool balls example" would be: 16! = (16-3)! 13! 16! = 6,227,020,800 20,922,789,888,000 = 3,360

(which is just the same as: 16 15 14 = 3,360) How many ways can first and second place be awarded to 10 people? 10! = (10-2)! 8! 10! = 40,320 3,628,800 = 90

(which is just the same as: 10 9 = 90)

Notation
Instead of writing the whole formula, people use different notations such as these:

Example: P(10,2) = 90

Combinations
There are also two types of combinations (remember the order does not matter now):

Repetition is Allowed: such as coins in your pocket (5,5,5,10,10) No Repetition: such as lottery numbers (2,14,15,27,30,33)

1. Combinations with Repetition


Actually, these are the hardest to explain, so I will come back to this later.

2. Combinations without Repetition


This is how lotteries work. The numbers are drawn one at a time, and if you have the lucky numbers (no matter what order) you win! The easiest way to explain it is to:

assume that the order does matter (ie permutations), then alter it so the order does not matter.

Going back to our pool ball example, let us say that you just want to know which 3 pool balls were chosen, not the order. We already know that 3 out of 16 gave us 3,360 permutations. But many of those will be the same to us now, because we don't care what order! For example, let us say balls 1, 2 and 3 were chosen. These are the possibilites: Order does matter 123 132 213 231 312 321 Order doesn't matter

123

So, the permutations will have 6 times as many possibilites. In fact there is an easy way to work out how many ways "1 2 3" could be placed in order, and we have already talked about it. The answer is: 3! = 3 2 1 = 6 (Another example: 4 things can be placed in 4! = 4 3 2 1 = 24 different ways, try it for yourself!) So, all we need to do is adjust our permutations formula to reduce it by how many ways the objects could be in order (because we aren't interested in the order any more):

That formula is so important it is often just written in big parentheses like this:

where n is the number of things to choose from, and you choose r of them (No repetition, order doesn't matter) It is often called "n choose r" (such as "16 choose 3") And is also known as the "Binomial Coefficient"

Notation
As well as the "big parentheses", people also use these notations:

Example
So, our pool ball example (now without order) is: 16! = 3!(16-3)! Or you could do it this way: 161514 = 321 6 3360 = 560 3!13! 16! = 66,227,020,800 20,922,789,888,000 = 560

So remember, do the permutation, then reduce by a further "r!" ... or better still ... Remember the Formula!
It is interesting to also note how this formula is nice and symmetrical:

In other words choosing 3 balls out of 16, or choosing 13 balls out of 16 have the same number of combinations. 16! = 3!(16-3)! 13!(16-13)! 16! = 3!13! 16! = 560

Pascal's Triangle

You can also use Pascal's Triangle to find the values. Go down to row "n" (the top row is 0), and then along "r" places and the value there is your answer. Here is an extract showing row 16:

1 1 1 16 15

14 105 120

91 455

364

... ... ...

1365

560

1820

4368

1. Combinations with Repetition


OK, now we can tackle this one ...

Let us say there are five flavors of icecream: banana, chocolate, lemon, strawberry and vanilla. You can have three scoops. How many variations will there be? Let's use letters for the flavors: {b, c, l, s, v}. Example selections would be

{c, c, c} (3 scoops of chocolate) {b, l, v} (one each of banana, lemon and vanilla) {b, v, v} (one of banana, two of vanilla)

(And just to be clear: There are n=5 things to choose from, and you choose r=3 of them. Order does not matter, and you can repeat!) Now, I can't describe directly to you how to calculate this, but I can show you a special technique that lets you work it out.

Think about the ice cream being in boxes, you could say "move past the first box, then take 3 scoops, then move along 3 more boxes to the end" and you will have 3 scoops of chocolate! So, it is like you are ordering a robot to get your ice cream, but it doesn't change anything, you still get what you want. Now you could write this down as (arrow means move, circle means scoop).

In fact the three examples above would be written like this: {c, c, c} (3 scoops of chocolate): {b, l, v} (one each of banana, lemon and vanilla): {b, v, v} (one of banana, two of vanilla): OK, so instead of worrying about different flavors, we have a simpler problem to solve: "how many different ways can you arrange arrows and circles" Notice that there are always 3 circles (3 scoops of ice cream) and 4 arrows (you need to move 4 times to go from the 1st to 5th container). So (being general here) there are r + (n-1) positions, and we want to choose r of them to have circles.

This is like saying "we have r + (n-1) pool balls and want to choose r of them". In other words it is now like the pool balls problem, but with slightly changed numbers. And you would write it like this:

where n is the number of things to choose from, and you choose r of them (Repetition allowed, order doesn't matter) Interestingly, we could have looked at the arrows instead of the circles, and we would have then been saying "we have r + (n-1) positions and want to choose (n-1) of them to have arrows", and the answer would be the same ...

So, what about our example, what is the answer? (5+3-1)! = 3!(5-1)! 3!4! 7! = 624 5040 = 35

In Conclusion
Phew, that was a lot to absorb, so maybe you could read it again to be sure! But knowing how these formulas work is only half the battle. Figuring out how to interpret a real world situation can be quite hard. But at least now you know how to calculate all 4 variations of "Order does/does not matter" and "Repeats are/are not allowed".

A permutation

is an arrangement of objects in specific order.

The order of the arrangement is important!! Consider, four students walking toward their school entrance. How many different ways could they arrange themselves in this side-by-side pattern? 1,2,3,4 1,2,4,3 1,3,2,4 1,3,4,2 1,4,2,3 2,1,3,4 2,1,4,3 2,3,1,4 2,3,4,1 2,4,1,3 3,2,1,4 3,2,4,1 3,1,2,4 3,1,4,2 3,4,2,1 4,2,3,1 4,2,1,3 4,3,2,1 4,3,1,2 4,1,2,3

1,4,3,2 2,4,3,1 3,4,1,2 4,1,3,2 The number of different arrangements is 24 or 4! = 4 3 2 1. There are 24 different arrangements, or permutations, of the four students walking side-by-side. The notation for a permutation:
See how to use your TI-83+/TI-84+ graphing calculator with permutations. Click calculator.

n r n is the total number of objects r is the number of objects chosen (want)


The formula for a permutation:

The formula for a permutation:

OR
(Remember that 0! = 1.)

(Note: if n = r, as it did with the students walking side-by-side, then n Pr = n! for either formula.)

Examples:
1. 2. or
multiply by two factors of the factorial, starting with 6

Compute: Compute:

5 6

P5 P2

5 4 3 2 1 = 120 6 5 = 30

3. Find the number of ways to arrange 5 objects that are chosen from a set of 7 different objects.
7

P 5 = 76543 = 2520

or

4. What is the total number of possible 5-letter arrangements of the letters w, h, i, t, e, if each letter is used only once in each arrangement?

P5 = 54321 = 120 simply 5!


5

or

or

5. How many different 3-digit numerals can be made from the digits 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 if a digit can appear just once in a numeral?
5

P3 = 543 = 60

or

Permutations with Special Arrangements:


Using the letters in the word " square ", tell how many 6letter arrangements, with no repetitions, are possible if the : a) first letter is a vowel. b) vowels and consonants alternate, beginning with a consonant.

Example:

Solution:
Part a: Hint: When working with "arrangements", it is often helpful to put lines down to represent the locations of the items. For this problem, six "locations" are needed for 6-letter arrangements.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

The first locations must be a vowel (u, a, e). There are three ways to fill the first location. __3___ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ After the vowel has been placed in the first location, there are 5 letters left to be arranged in the remaining five spaces. __3__ __5__ __4__ __3__ __2__ __1__ or

3 5P5

3 120 = 360

Part b: Six locations are needed for the 6-letter arrangements.


_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

Beginning with a consonant, every other location must be filled with a consonant. (s, q, r ) __3__ _____ __2___ _____ ___1__ _____ The remaining locations are filled with the remaining three vowels: __3__ __3___ __2___ __2___ ___1__ ___1__

= 36

Permutations
Definition of n factorial The definition of n!, pronounced n factorial is (n)(n - 1)(n - 2). . . (3)(2)(1)

For example: 3! = (3)(2)(1) = 6 4! = (4)(3)(2)(1) = 24 5! = (5)(4)(3)(2)(1) = 120 6! = (6)(5)(4)(3)(2)(1) = 720

Permutation A permutation is one of the different arrangements of a group of items where

order matters.

When order matters AB

BA.

Consider the following: Given 3 people, Bob, Mike and Sue, how many different ways can these three people be arranged where order matters? Let BMS stand for the order of Bob on the left, Mike in the middle and Sue on the right. Since order matters, a different arrangement is BSM. Where Bob is on the left, Sue is in the middle and Mike is on the right. If we find all possible arrangements of Bob, Mike and Sue where order matters, we have the following: BMS, BSM, MSB, MBS, SMB, SBM

The number of ways to arrange three people three at a time is: 3! = (3)(2)(1) = 6 ways

Consider the following: Given 4 people, Bob, Mike, Sue and Alice, how many different ways can these three people be arranged where order matters? If we find all possible arrangements of Bob, Mike, Sue and Alice where order matters, we have the following: BMSA, MBSA, BMAS, MBAS, BSMA, MABS, BSAM, MASB, BAMS, MSBA, BASM MSAB

SBMA, SBAM, SMBA, SMAB, SABM, SAMB ABMS, ABSM, AMBS, AMSB, ASBM, ASMB There are 24 ways to arrange the four people four at a time, or 4!

Summary If you want to arrange 3 people in groups of 3 at a time, there are 3! ways to accomplish this task. If you want to arrange 4 people in groups of 4 at a time, there are 4! ways to accomplish this task. If you want to arrange n objects in groups of n at a time, there are n! ways to accomplish this task.
Property There are n! ways to arrange n objects in groups of n at a time.

Now Suppose we want to take these four people and arrange them in groups of three at a time where order matters. The following demonstrates all the possible arrangements. BMS, MBS, SBM, ABM, BSM, MSB, SMB, AMB, BAS, MAS, SBA, ABS, BSA, MSA, SAB, ASB, BMA, BAM MBA, MAB SMA, SAM AMS, ASM

There are 24 ways to arrange 4 objects taken 3 at a time. The answer again is 24, but for a different reason. To find the value 24 mathematically we must use the permutation formula. The permutation formula is when order matters.

Permutation Formula The number of permutations of n objects taken r at a time is:

Example 1: Find the number of ways to arrange 4 people in groups of 3 at a time where order matters. Solution:

There are 24 ways to arrange 4 items taken 3 at a time when order matters. _________________________________________________________ Example 2: Find the number of ways to arrange 6 items in groups of 4 at a time where order matters.

Solution:

There are 360 ways to arrange 6 items taken 4 at a time when order matters. ______________________________________________________

Combinations
Combination A combination is one of the different arrangements of a group of items where order does not matter.

When order does not matter AB = BA. Consider the following: Given 3 people, Bob, Mike and Sue, how many different ways can these three people be arranged where order does not matters? Since order does not matter, any arrangement with Bob, Mike and Sue is considered the same arrangement. Therefore the only arrangement is BMS.

Now suppose we want to take four people, Bob, Mike, Sue and Alice, and arrange them in groups of three at a time where order does not matter. The following demonstrates all the possible arrangements. BMS, MSA, BMA, BSA

There are 4 ways to arrange 4 people in groups of 3 at a time.

Combination Formula

The number of combinations of a group of n objects taken r at a time is:

Example 3: Find the number of ways to take 4 people and place them in groups of 3 at a time where order does not matter.

Solution: Since order does not matter, use the combination formula.

There are 4 ways to arrange 4 items taken 3 at a time when order does not matter. ______________________________________________________ Example 4: Find the number of ways to take 20 objects and arrange them in groups of 5 at a time where order does not matter.

Solution:

There are 15,504 ways to arrange 20 objects taken 5 at a time when order does not matter. ______________________________________________________ Example 5: Is the State Lotteries a combination or a permutation?

Solution: The answer has to do with if order matters. If order matters, then it is a permutation. If order does not matter then it is a combination. Do you think the numbers on a ticket have to be in the same order as the order in which they became the winning numbers? In other words, lets say the winning numbers rolled out of the machine in the order of: 1,2,3,4,5,6. Do the numbers on your ticket have to be in this same order to win? Or will any order such as 2,3,1,5,6,4 also be a winning ticket? The answer is, any order of the winning numbers will produce the winning ticket. Thus the lotteries are combinations.

Factorial Tips with/without the Calculator

Example 6: How many ways are there to select a subcommittee of 7 members from among a committee of 17?

Solution: Since it does not matter what order the committee members are chosen in, the combination formula is used. Committees are always a combination unless the problem states that someone like a president has higher hierarchy over another person. If the committee is ordered, then it is a permutation. C(17,7)= 19,448 Therefore there are 19,448 different ways to form the committee. ___________________________________________________________ Example 7: Determine the total number of five-card hands that can be drawn from a deck of 52 cards.

Solution: When a hand of cards is dealt, the order of the cards does not matter. If you are dealt two kings, it does not matter if the two kings came with the first two cards or the last two cards. Thus cards are combinations. There are 52 cards in a deck and we want to know how many different ways we can put them in groups of five at a time when order does not matter. The combination formula is used. C(52,5) = 2,598,960

Therefore there are 2,598,960 different ways to create a five-card hand from a deck of 52 cards.

Student #1: There are five women and six men in a group. From this group a committee of 4 is to be chosen. How many different ways can a committee be formed that contain three women and one man? 55 60 25 192

Answer

Student #2: There are five women and six men in a group. From this group a committee of 4 is to be chosen. How many different ways can a committee be formed that contain at least three women? 65 67 20 12

Answer

Example 8: A school has scheduled three volleyball games, two soccer games, and four basketball games. You have a ticket allowing you to attend three of the games. In how many ways can you go to two basketball games and one of the other events?

Solution: Since order does not matter it is a combination. The word AND means multiply. Given 4 basketball, 3 volleyball, 2 soccer. We want 2 basketball games and 1 other event. There are 5 choices left. C(n,r) C(How many do you have, How many do you want) C(have 4 basketball, want 2 basketball)*C(have 5 choices left, want 1) C(4,2)*C(5,1) (6)(5) = 30 Therefore there are 30 different ways in which you can go to two basketball games and one of the other events. ___________________________________________________________ Example 9: How many ways are there to deal a five-card hand consisting of three eight's and two sevens.

Solution: If a card hand that consists of four Queens and an Ace is rearranged, nothing has changed. The hand still contains four Queens and an Ace. Thus, use the combination formula for problems with cards. We have 4 eights and 4 sevens. We want 3 eights and 2 sevens.

C(have 4 eights, want 3 eights)*C(have 4 sevens, want 2 sevens) C(4,3)*C(4,2) = 24 Therefore there are 24 different ways in which to deal the desired hand.

Student #3: How many different 5-card hands include 4 aces? 61 28 48 225

Answer

Example 10: How many different 5-card hands include 4 of a kind and one other card?

Solution: We have 13 different ways to choose 4 of a kind: 2's, 3's, 4's, Queens, Kings and Aces. Once a set of 4 of a kind has been removed from the deck, 48 cards are left. Remember OR means add. The possible situations that will satisfy the above requirement are:

4 Aces and one other card

C(4,4)*C(48,1) = 48 C(4,4)*C(48,1) = 48 C(4,4)*C(48,1) = 48

or 4 Kings and one other card or 4 Queens and one other card . . . or 4 twos and one other card Total of 624 ways

C(4,4)*C(48,1) = 48

This problem could also have been calculated as follows. 13*C(4,4)*C(48,1) = 624 Therefore there are 624 different 5-card hands that have four of a kind, and one other card.

Student #4: In a local election, there are seven people running for three positions. The person that has the most votes will be elected to the highest paying position. The person with the second most votes will be elected to the second highest paying position, and likewise for the third place winner. How many different outcomes can this election have? 301 258 176 210

Answer

Student #5: How many different ways can a five-question true-false test can be answered? 32 28 76 26

Answer

Example 11: An exacta in horse racing is when you correctly guess which horses will finish first and second. If there are eight horses in the race, how many different possible outcomes for the exacta are there?

Solution: Does order matter? Yes it does! If the order did not matter who would come to the event? Since order matters, use the formula for a Permutation. There are 8 horses, and we want to know how many different ways there are to choose 2 horses at a time where order matters. In other words, once you choose two horses, this counts as two arrangements. If horse A comes in first and horse B comes in second, it is a different arrangement then if horse B comes in first and horse A comes in second. P(8,2) = 56

Therefore there are 56 different ways to have a first and second place winner out of eight horses. ___________________________________________________________ Example 11: Find the number of ways to draw a straight, (suit does not matter) beginning with a 4 and ending with a 8.

Solution: There are 5 slots. __ __ __ __ __ The first slot must be a four. There are 4 ways to put a four in the first slot. There are 4 ways to put a five in the second slot, and there are 4 ways to put a six in the third slot. etc. (4)(4)(4)(4)(4) = 45 = 1024 Therefore there are 1024 different ways to produce the desired hand of cards.

Student #6: How many ways can 10 people be placed in alphabetical order according to their first names? 1 10 100 10!

Answer

Student #7: How many different ways can the letters in the word "store" be arranged? 15 5 120 24

Answer

Example 12: A certain marathon had 50 people running for first prize, second, and third prize. A) How many different possible outcomes are there for the first three runners to cross the finish line? Solution: Order matters in a race, so use the permutation formula. P(50,3) = 117,600 ways

B) How many ways are there to correctly guess the first, second, and third place winners?

Solution: There is 1 way to correctly guess who comes in first, second, and third. There is only one set of first, second and third place winners. You must correctly guess these three people, and there is only one way to do so.

___________________________________________________________

Example 13: A local delivery company has three packages to deliver to three different homes. If the packages are delivered at random to the three houses, how many ways are there for at least one house to get the wrong package? Solution: The possible outcomes that satisfy the condition of "at least one house gets the wrong package" are: One house gets the wrong package or two houses get the wrong package or three houses get the wrong package. We can calculate each of these cases and then add them together, or approach this problem from a different angle. The only case which is left out of the condition is the case where no wrong packages are delivered. If we determine the total number of ways the three packages can be delivered and then subtract the one case from it, the remainer will be the three cases above. There is only one way for no wrong packages delivered to occur. This is the same as everyone gets the right package. The first person must get the correct package and the second person must get the correct package and the third person must get the correct package. 1*1*1 = 1

Determine the total number of ways the three packages can be delivered. 3*2*1 = 6 The number of ways at least one house gets the wrong package is: 6-1=5 Therefore there are 5 ways for at least one house to get the wrong package.

___________________________________________________________

Generalized Perms & Combs


In the previous section we dealt with selections without repetitions. this section we look at problems that deal with repetitions. In

Consider the word fort. Since there are 4 letters grouped 4 at a time where order matters, there are 4! ways to arrange the letters in the word fort. Note: Order matter when letters are rearranged. In other words, the arrangement of the word fort is a different word when it is arranged as trof. But what about a word like MISSISSIPPI? How many different arrangements are possible with duplicate letters? The letter S is still S no matter which one you use, so all the words that have duplicate letters such as S, I and P switched are the same words to us. The word Mississippi is the same word to us a Mississippi. The two letters switched places, but it does not produce a new word for us. Thus, all of these cases can NOT be counted as an arrangement. __________________________________________________ Theorem:

Suppose that a sequence S of n items has n1 identical objects of type 1, n2 identical objects of type 2, ni identical objects of type i. Then the number of orderings of S is:

__________________________________________________ The word MISSISSIPPI has the following number of orderings:

= 34,650

The first 4! in the denominator is due to the letter I repeated 4 times. The second 4! in the denominator is due to the letter S repeated 4 times. The 2! in the denominator is due to the letter P repeated 2 times.

Student #8: How many different ways are there to arrange the word school? 455 53 487 360

Answer

Homework Problems for Permutations & Combinations

Find the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. P(7,5) C(7,5) P(4,4) P(n,n) 9! C(5,5) C(n,n) C(8,0) C(n,0) P(12,3) C(9,2) P(18,8) C(21,17) P(7,4) C(11,1) P(9,0) C(9,0) P(8,3)

19.

C(13,5)

20. Twenty applicants for a secretary position are to be interviewed to narrow the list of candidates to the top five. How many possible results are there if A) the top five are ranked in order of preference? B) the top five are unranked? 21. Six speakers are scheduled to address a group of College students. In how many different orders can the speakers appear? 22. In how many different ways can the letters of the work HOUSE be arranged? 23. A company has divided a state into eight regions. It wishes to test a product in three of these regions. How many different ways are there to select these three regions? 24. The chocolate factory classifies its candies as caramels (10 types), chocolate (7 types), and dark chocolate (8 types). A customer has ordered an assortment to consist of six types of caramels, four types of chocolate, and five types of dark chocolates. How many such assortments are possible? 25. A five member committee is to be selected from among four Math teachers and five English teachers. In how many different ways can the committee be formed under the following circumstance? A) Anyone is eligible to serve on the committee. B) The committee must consist of 3 Math teachers and 2 English teachers. C) The committee must contain at least three Math teachers. D) The committee must contain at least three English teachers. 26. From a group of 8 teachers, a committee of at least one and at most

three persons is to be formed. formed?

How many different committees can be

27. In Rapid City South Dakota, there are 10 dogs racing for first and second prize. How many possible outcomes are there? 28. If there are 8 orange bars, 9 red bars and 5 blue bars, how many different ways are there to give a person 2 orange bars, 3 red bars and 1 blue bar? 29. How many different ways are there to draw 6 cards from a standard deck of cards and obtain 4 kings and 2 jacks? 30. How many different ways are there to draw 7 cards from a standard deck of cards and obtain 3 jacks and 4 queens? 31. If two cards are chosen at random from a standard deck of playing cards, how many different ways are there to draw the two cards if at least one card is a jack, queen or a king? 32. If three cards are chosen at random from a standard deck of playing cards, how many different ways are there to draw the three cards if at least two cards are a jack, queen or a king? 33. How many different ways can the letters in the word crystal be arranged? 34. There are 23 male and 25 female students at West Mount High. Two different scholarships are to be awarded. How many ways are there to award one of the scholarships to a male student and the other to a female student.

35. There are 23 male and 25 female students at West Mount High. Two scholarships which are identical are to be awarded. How many ways are there to award one of the scholarships to a male student and the other to a female student.

Answers

Homework Solutions 1. 2520 2. 21 3. 4! = 24 4. n! 5. 362880 6. 1 7. 1 8. 1 9. 1 10. 1320 11. 36 12. 1,764,322,560 13. 5985 14. 840 15. 11 16. 1 17. 1 18. 336 19. 1287 20. 1,860,480, 15,504 21. 720 22. 120 23. 56 24. 411,600 25. 126, 40, 45, 81 26. 92 27. P(10,2) = 90 28. 29. 11,760 C(4,4)*C(4,2) = (1)(6) = 6

31. Let the set of jack, queen, king be called set A. There are 12 cards in this set. Let the other cards be set B. There are 40 cards in this set. Draw two cards. S = {1 card from set A and 1 card from set B, or both cards from set A, or ... S = {AB, AA, BB} We want at least one from set A, so find AB or AA. C(40,1)*C(12,1) + C(12,2) = 546 32. 2860

33. 7! = 5040 Or P(7,7) 34. 2(23)(25) = 1150 35. (23)(25) = 575

1. Determine whether the following situations would require calculating


a permutationor a combination: a.) Selecting three students to attend a conference in Washington, D.C. permutation combination b.) Selecting a lead and an understudy for a school play. permutation combination c.) Assigning students to their seats on the first day of school. permutation combination

2. Evaluate:
Choose: 12 60 480 720

A teacher is making a multiple choice quiz. She wants to give each student the same questions, but have each student's questions appear in a different order. If there are twenty-seven students in the class, what is the least number of questions the quiz must contain?
Answer: If there were two questions on the quiz, we could prepare two quizzes with the questions in different order -- 21 = 2. If there were three questions, we could get 321 = 6 different orders. If there were four questions, we could get 4321 = 24 different orders -- not quite enough for the class of 27 students. If there were five questions, we could get 54321 = 120 different orders. The teacher will need at least 5 questions on the quiz.

5.

A coach must choose five starters from a team of 12 players. How many different ways can the coach choose the starters?

Answer

5.
Choose 5 starters from a team of 12 players. Order is not important.

6.

The local Family Restaurant has a daily breakfast special in which the customer may choose one item from each of the following groups:

Breakfast Sandwich egg and ham egg and bacon egg and cheese

Accompaniments breakfast potatoes apple slices fresh fruit cup pastry

Juice orange cranberry tomato apple grape

a.) How many different breakfast specials are possible? b.) How many different breakfast specials without meat are possible?

Answer 6.
a.) Basic counting principle: Sandwiches x Accompaniments x Juice 3 4 5 = 60 breakfast choices b.) Meatless means that under Sandwiches there will be only one choice. Sandwiches x Accompaniments x Juice 1 4 5 = 20 meatless breakfast choices

7.

In how many ways can 3 different vases be arranged on a tray?

Answer

Basic counting principle: 3! = 321 = 6 ways

8. There are fourteen juniors and

twenty-three seniors in the Service Club. The club is to send four representatives to the State Conference. a.) How many different ways are there to select a group of four students to attend the conference? b.) If the members of the club decide to send two juniors and two seniors, how many different groupings are possible?

Answer 8. 14 juniors, 23 seniors 37 students total


a.) Choose 4 students from the total number of students. Order is not important.

b.) Choose 2 juniors and 2 seniors.

Permutations

BY THE PERMUTATIONS of the letters abc we mean all of their possiblearrangements:


abc acb bac bca cab cba There are 6 permutations of three different things. As the number of things (letters) increases, their permutations grow astronomically. For example, if twelve different things are permuted, then the number of their permutations is 479,001,600. Now, this enormous number was not found by counting them. It is derived theoretically from the Fundamental Principle of Counting:
If something can be chosen, or can happen, or be done, in m different ways, and, after that has happened, something else can be chosen in ndifferent ways, then the number of ways of choosing both of them is m n.

For example, imagine putting the letters a, b, c, d into a hat, and then drawing two of them in succession. We can draw the first in 4 different ways: either a or b or c or d. After that has happened, there

are 3 ways to choose the second. That is, to each of those 4 ways there correspond 3. Therefore, there are 4 3 or 12 possible ways to choose two letters from four. a b c d b a a a a b c d c c b b a b c d d d d c ab means that a was chosen first and b second; ba means that b was chosen first and a second; and so on. Let us now consider the total number of permutations of all four letters. There are 4 ways to choose the first. 3 ways remain to choose the second, 2 ways to choose the third, and 1 way to choose the last. Therefore the number of permutations of 4 different things is 4 3 2 1 = 24 Thus the number of permutations of 4 different things taken 4 at a time is 4!. (See Topic 19.) (To say taken 4 at a time is a convention. We mean, "4! is the number of permutations of 4 different things taken from a total of 4 different things.") In general,

The number of permutations of n different things taken n at a time is n!.


Example 1. Five different books are on a shelf. In how many different ways could you arrange them? Answer. 5! = 1 2 3 4 5 = 120

Example 2. There are 6! permutations of the 6 letters of the wordsquare. a) In how many of them is r the second letter? _ r _ _ _ _ b) In how many of them are q and e next to each other? Solution. a) Let r be the second letter. Then there are 5 ways to fill the first spot. After that has happened, there are 4 ways to fill the third, 3 to fill the fourth, and so on. There are 5! such permutations. b) Let q and e be next to each other as qe. Then we will be permuting the 5 units qe, s, u a, r.. They have 5! permutations. But q and e could be together as eq. Therefore, the total number of ways they can be next to each other is 2 5! = 240.
Permutations of less than all

We have seen that the number of ways of choosing 2 letters from 4 is 4 3 = 12. We call this "The number of permutations of 4 different things taken 2 at a time." We will symbolize this as P : P = 4 3 The lower index 2 indicates the number of factors. The upper index4 indicates the first factor. For example, P means "the number of permutations of 8 different things taken 3 at a time." And
4 2 4 2 8 3

P =8 7 6
3

=56 6 = 50 6 + 6 6

=336 For, there are 8 ways to choose the first, 7 ways to choose the second, and 6 ways to choose the third. In general, P = n(n 1)(n 2) to k factors
n k

Factorial representation

We saw in the Topic on factorials, 8 ! = 8 7 5 6 ! 5! is a factor of 8!, and therefore the 5!'s cancel. Now, 8 7 6 is P . We see, then, that P can be expressed in terms of factorials as
8 3 8 3

8 = =! P (8 5 3)! ! In general, the number of arrangements -permutations -- of n things taken k at a time, can be represented as follows:
8 3 n

8!

n!

(n k)! The upper factorial is the upper index of P, while the lower factorial is the difference of the indices.
k

. . . . . . . . . . . .(1)

Example 3. Express Solution.P


10

10

P in terms of factorials.
4

1 = 0! 6 !

The upper factorial is the upper index, and the lower factorial is the difference of the indices. When the 6!'s cancel, the numerator becomes 10 9 8 7. This is the number of permutations of 10 different things taken 4 at a time. Example 4. Calculate nPn. Solution. Pn = n!
n n =! = = ! 0 n! 1 !

(n n)! n Pn is the number of permutations of n different things taken n at a time -- it is the total number of permutations of n things: n!. Thedefinition 0! = 1 makes line (1) above valid for all values of k: k = 0, 1, 2, . . . , n.
n

Problem 1. Write down all the permutations of xyz. To see the answer, pass your mouse over the colored area. To cover the answer again, click "Refresh" ("Reload"). xyz, xzy, yxz, yzx, zxy, zyx. Problem 2. How many permutations are there of the letters pqrs? 4! = 1 2 3 4 = 24 Problem 3. a) How many different arrangements are there of the letters of the word numbers? 7! = 5,040 b) How many of those arrangements have b as the first letter? Set b as the first letter, and permute the remaining 6. Therefore, there are 6! such arrangements.

c) How many have b as the last letter -- or in any specified position? The same. 6!. d) How many will have n, u, and m together? Begin by permuting the 5 things -- num, b, e, r, s. They will have 5! permutations. But in each one of them, there are 3! rearrangements of num. Consequently, the total number of arrangements in which n, u, and m are together, is 3! 5! = 6 120 = 720. Problem 4. a) How many different arrangements (permutations) are there of the digits 01234? 5! = 120 b) How many 5-digit numbers can you make of those digits, in which the b) first digit is not 0, and no digit is repeated? Since 0 cannot be first, remove it. Then there will be 4 ways to choose the first digit. Now replace 0. It will now be one of 4 remaining digits. Therefore, there will be 4 ways to fill the second spot, 3 ways to fill the third, and so on. The total number of 5-digit numbers, then, is 4 4! = 4 24 = 96. c) How many 5-digit odd numbers can you make, and no digit is c) repeated? Again, 0 cannot be first, so remove it. Since the number must be odd, it must end in either 1 or 3. Place 1, then, in the last position. _ _ _ _ 1. Therefore, for the first position, we may choose either 2, 3, or 4, so that there are 3 ways to choose the first digit. Now replace 0. Hence, there will be 3 ways to choose the second position, 2 ways to choose the third, and 1 way to choose the fourth. Therefore, the total number of odd numbers that

end in 1, is 3 3 2 1 = 18. The same analysis holds if we place 3 in the last position, so that the total number of odd numbers is 2 18 = 36. Problem 5. a) If the five letters a, b, c, d, e are put into a hat, in how many different a) ways could you draw one out? 5 b) When one of them has been drawn, in how many ways could you a) draw a second? 4 c) Therefore, in how many ways could you draw two letters? 5 4 = 20 This number is denoted by P . d) What is the meaning of the symbol P ?
5 2 5 3

The number of permutations of 5 different things taken 3 at a time. e) Evaluate P .


5 3 6

5 4 3 = 60
10

Problem 5. Evaluate a) P = 120 b) 2520


3

P = 90
2

c)

P =
5

Problem 6. Express with factorials. a) P


n k

n! (n k)!

b) P
12

12! 5!

c) P
8

8! 6!

d) P
m

m! m!

In permutations, the order is all important -- we count abc as different from bca. But in combinations we are concerned only that a, b, and c have been selected. abc and bca are the same combination. Here are all the combinations of abcd taken three at a time: abc abd acd bcd.

There are four such combinations. We call this

The number of combinations of 4 distinct things taken 3 at a time.


We will denote this number as C . In general,
4 3 n

C = The number of combinations of n distinct things


k

taken k at a time.

Now, how are the number of combinations C related to the number of permutations, P ? To be specific, how are the combinations C related to the permutations P ? Since the order does not matter in combinations, there are clearly fewer combinations than permutations. The combinations are contained among the permutations -- they are a "subset" of the permutations. Each of those four combinations, in fact, will give rise to 3! permutations: ab ab ac bc c d d d ac ad ad bd b b c c ba ba ca cb c d d d bc bd cd cd a a a b ca da da db b b c c cb db dc dc a a a b Each column is the 3! permutations of that combination. But they are all one combination -because the order does not matter. Hence there are 3! times as many permutations as combinations. C , therefore, will be P divided by 3! -- the number of permutations that each combination generates.
n k n k 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 3

4 3 = =2 3 C 1 2 ! 3 Notice: The numerator and denominator have the same number of factors, 3, which is indicated by the lower index. The numerator has 3 factors starting with the upper index and going down, while the denominator is 3!.
4 3

In general, C =
n k n

. k! n(n 1)(n 2) to k factors k!

Example 1. How many combinations are there of 5 distinct things taken 4 at a time? Solution. =
5 4 3 = 2 C 1 2 3 5. 4
4

Again, both the numerator and denominator have the number of factorsindicated by the lower index, which in this case is 4. The numerator has four factors beginning with the upper index 5 and going backwards. The denominator is 4!. Example 2. Evaluate C .
8 6

Solution. =

8 4 C 1 5
6

7 6 5 3 2 3 4 6

= 28.

Both the numerator and denominator have 6 factors. The entire denominator cancels into the numerator. This will always be the case.

Example 3. Evaluate C .
8 2

Solution. =

8 = 7 C 1 28. 2
2 8 2 8 6

We see that C , the number of ways of taking 2 things from 8, is equal to C (Example 2), the number of ways of taking 8 minus 2, or 6. For, the number of ways of taking 2, is the same as the number of ways of leaving 6 behind. Always: n Ck = nCn k The bottom indices, k on the left and n k on the right, together add up to n. Example 4. Write out nC .
3

Solution. C = The 3 factors in the numerator begin with n and go down.


n
3

n(n 1) (n 2) 1 2 3

Factorial representation

In terms of factorials, the number of selections -combinations -- ofn distinct things taken k at a time, can be represented as follows: n! n Ck = (n k)! k! This is nPk divided Compare line (1) of by k!. Section 1. Notice: In the denominator, n k and k together equal the numerator n.

Note also the convention that the factorial of the lower index, k, is written in the denominator on the right. Example 5. C =
8 3

. (Note: 5 + 3 in the denominator equals 8 in 5! the numerator. 3!


8 7 6 . 1 2 3

8!

Show that this is equal to

Solution. 5! is a factor of 8!, so it will cancel. 8! 8 7 6 8 7 = 5! =6 . 1 2 5! 5! 1 3 3! 2 3 Example 6. Write each of the following with factorials: C , C .
8 6 8 2

Solution. C =
6

. C 2! =
8

8!

6!

. But 2! 6! is equal to 6! 6! 2!.


2!

8!

Therefore, we see that the number of ways of taking 6 things from 8, is the same as the number of ways of taking 2. C = C In general, C = C (See Problem 9, below.)
8 6 8 2 n k n nk

Example 7. Write C
8

with factorials.

Solution. =

8! . Since 0! = 1, that fraction is equal 8!

to 1. There is

0!

only 1 way to take 0 things from 8. This is the same as the number of ways of taking all 8. Example 8. Write C with factorials. Solution. Let us look at the factorial form:
n k+1 m

C =
j

m! (m j) ! j!

The lower factorials are the difference of the indices, m j, times the lower index, j. Let us apply this to C . The difference of the indices is n (k + 1) = n k 1 Therefore,
n k+1 n

C =
k+

n! (n k 1)! (k + 1)!

Problem 1. a) Write all the combinations of abcd taken 1 at a time. To see the answer, pass your mouse over the colored area. To cover the answer again, click "Refresh" ("Reload"). a, b, c, d. b) Write their combinations taken 2 at a time. ab, ac, ad, bc, bd, cd. c) Write their combinations taken 3 at a time.

abc, abd, acd, bcd. d) Write their combinations taken 4 at a time. abcd Problem 2. a) There are 3! permutations of the letters rpt. Those 3! permutations a) include how many combinations of rpt? One. b) rpt is one of the C combinations of pqrst. Therefore, by how much b) must the P permutations of pqrst be reduced, in order to have b) only their C combinations? By 3!. C = P /3!.
5 3 5 3 5 3 5 3 5 3

* * * n(n 1)(n = 2) to k factors C k! Problem 3. You have 5 shirts, but you will take with you only 3 for your vacation. In how many different ways can you do this?
n k 5

C = 10. The order in which you select them does not matter.
3

Problem 4. From a class of 12 students, 4 will be chosen to do a job. In how many different ways could that happen? C = 495. The order in which you choose them does not matter.
12 4

Problem 5. Evaluate the following.


6

a) C
4

= 15

b) C
5

= 10

c) C
10

= 45

d) C
10

= 45

e)

= 56

f)

= 56

g)

=1

h)

=1

C
n

Problem 6. a) Write out C . Notice how the last factor in the numerator is a) related to the lower index.
4

n(n 1)(n 2)(n 3) 1 2 3 4

b) In the numerator of C , what will be the last factor? (n k + 1) In part a) where k = 4, the last factor is (n 3), and 3 is 4 1. In general then, the last factor will be [n (k 1)] = (n k + 1). We could also see that by imagining that each of the k factors has the form (n j). In the first factor, j = 0. And in the kth, j = k 1. c) In the numerator of C , what will be the last factor? (21 m)
n k 20 m

*
n

C =
k

* n!

(n k)! k! Problem 7. Write the following with factorials. a) e) C


u

C (u v)! v!
v

u!

b) C
9

9! 6! 3!

c) C
9

9! 3! 6!

d) C
12

11

12! 1! 11!

12

12

12! 0! 12!

f) 12! 12! 0! C Therefore, what number is C ? 1


12 0 12 0

Problem 8. Write the following with factorials. a)


n

n! k! (n k)!

b)

n+1

(n + 1)! (n k + 1)! k!

c)
1

n! (n k + 1)! (k 1)!

d)
1

n1

(n 1)! (n k)! (k 1)!

Problem 9. a) In how many ways could you select three of these digits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ?
5

C = 10
3

b) In how many ways could you not select two of them?


5

C = 10
2

c) Prove:

k n

= C C =
n k

nk

n! (n k)! k!

n! = k! (n k)! k

The sum of all combinations

What is the sum of all the combinations of n distinct things? That is, what is the sum of C + C + C + . . . + C? Also, when we consider that sum, what is the significance of each one of the combinatorial numbers? First, we will see that the sum is equal to 2 . To see that, consider any situation in which there are exactly two possibilities: Succeed or Fail. Yes or No. In or Out. Boy or Girl. And so on. Now suppose that we are going to make a choice between those two possibilities exactly n times. To be specific, let n = 4. And say that the choice will be between Yes or No. Then upon choosing either Yes or No 4 times, one outcome might be Yes No Yes Yes. Another might be
n 0 n 1 n 2 n n n

No No No Yes. Another might be Yes No Yes No. And so on. Let us ask: In how many of those outcomes will there be, for example, exactly 3 Yes's? To answer, consider that there will be 4 positions to fill with either Yes or No. And let us ask: In how many different ways could we choose 3 positions to have a Yes? It will be the combinatorial number C , because the order will not matter. (Compare Problem 4 above, which is choosing students for a job. Here the "job" is to have a Yes ) Similarly, the number of outcomes with exactly 1 Yes will be C ; the number with 2 will be C ; while the number with no Yes's -- that is, all No's -- will be C . The sum of those combinatorial numbers will account for the total number of ways to choose between two things 4 times. C + C + C + C + C. What is that total number? Consider that to each choice of either Yes or No, there will be 2 possibilities, obviously. The first of the 4 choices can happen in 2 different ways. After that has happened, the second choice can also happen in 2 different ways, and similarly with the third and fourth choices. The total number of possible outcomes, then, is 2 2 2 2 = 2 . The sum of all the combinations of 4 things is 2 . C + C + C + C =1 + 4 + 6 + 4 + + C 1 (See Pascal's triangle,
4 3 4 1 4 2 4 0 4 0 4 1 4 2 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 0 4 1 4 2 4 3 4 4

Topic 24) = =
4 0

16 2.
4

There is exactly 1 way, C , in which there are no Yes's, that is, all No's; 4 ways in which there is 1 Yes; 6 in which there are 2; 4 in which there are 3; and 1 in which there are 4. Each combinatorial number C signifies the number of times one of the two choices appears exactly k times. That distribution of outcomes which consists of the sum of all possible combinations, is called a binomial distribution. It is called that because, as we will see in the next topic, the combinatorial numbers are also the binomial coefficients. In general, the sum of all the combinations of n distinct things is 2 .
4 k n n

C + C + C + . . . + C = 2.
0 n 1 n 2 n n n

(Compare Problem 7, Topic 26.) Problem 10. a) Of 5 children, what is the total number of boy or girl possibilities? 2 = 32. b) How many of those possibilities will have 0 boys, how many 1 boy, b) how many 2, and so on? 1 5 10 10 5 1 These are the combinatorial numbers C . There will be 1 with no boys, 5 with 1 boy, 10 with 2, 10 with 3, 5 with 4, and 1 with 5.
5 5 k

Problem 11. Of all possible outcomes on tossing a coin 6 times, how many of them will have heads 4 times? C = C = 15.
6 4 6 2

Problem 12. At Joe's Pizza Parlor, in addition to cheese there are 8 different toppings. If you can order any number of those 8 toppings, then how many different toppings could you possibly order? 2 = 256. For, this is the sum of all possible combinations: either no topping, or 1, or 2, and so on, up to 8.
8

Problem 13. a) A door can be opened only with a security code that consists of five a) buttons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. A code consists of pressing any one button, or a) any two, or any three, or any four, or all five. a) How many possible codes are there? a) (You are to press all the buttons at once, so the order doesn't matter.) This is the sum of all the combinations of 5 things -except not taking any, C , which is 1. The sum of all those combinations, then, is 2 1 = 32 1 = 31.
5 0 5

b) If, to open the door you must press three codes, then how many b) possible ways are there to open the door? a) Assume that the same code may be repeated. There are 31 ways to choose the first code. Again, 31 ways to choose the second, and 31 ways to choose the third. Therefore, the total number of ways to open the door is 31 = 29,791.
3

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