COMBINATION

n Cr 
n!
r ! n  r  !
AND n
Pr 
n!
n  r !

! PERMUTATION
!
BY T.H MUSONDELA
0! = 1
1! = 1
2! = (2)(1) = 2
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
7! = (7)(6)(5)(4)(3)(2)(1) = 5,040
8! = (8)(7)(6)(5)(4)(3)(2)(1) = 40,320
9! = (9)(8)(7)(6)(5)(4)(3)(2)(1) = 362,880
10! = (10)(9)(8)(7)(6)(5)(4)(3)(2)(1) = 3,628,800
n! is n multiplied by all of the positive integers smaller than n.

1 thmusondela
INTRODUCTION
Permutation & Combination – it invariably evokes groans from a lot of students. And ironically the
topic is just about counting, counting the number of ways in which certain event can happen. Since the
counting can extend to a large number, we would fall short of fingers to count with and hence certain rules
are framed
What is the difference between a combination and a permutation?
The essential difference between a combination and a permutation has to do with the order in which
objects are selected. A combination focuses on the selection of objects without regard to the order in
which they are selected. A permutation, in contrast, focuses on the arrangement of objects with regard to
the order in which they are arranged.
Sign that it is a permutation
 Positions are listed out , i.e. selecting a president, secretary,
 The words used are: distinct, specific, sequence, arranged, display
Historical Note
The concepts of permutations and combinations can be traced back to the advent of Jainism in India and
perhaps even earlier. The credit, however, goes to the Jains who treated its subject matter as a self-
contained topic in mathematics, under the name Vikalpa. Among the Jains, Mahavira, (around 850) is
perhaps the world’s first mathematician credited with providing the general formulae for permutations and
combinations
FACTORIAL NOTATIONS (n!):
Unbelievably large numbers are sometimes the answers to innocent looking questions. For instance,
imagine that you are playing with an ordinary deck of 52 cards. As you shuffle and re-shuffle the deck you
wonder: How many ways could the deck be shuffled? That is, how may different ways can the deck be put
in order? You reason that there are 52 choices for the first card, then 51 choices for the second card, then 50
for the third card, etc. This gives a total of 52 × 51 × 50 × … × 2 × 1 ways to order a deck of cards. We call
this number "52 factorial" and write it as the numeral 52 with an exclamation point: 52! This number turns
out to be the 68 digit monster
80658175170943878571660636856403766975289505440883277824000000000000
which means that if every one on earth shuffled cards from now until the end of the universe, at a rate of
1000 shuffles per second, we wouldn't even scratch the surface in getting all possible orders. Whew! No
wonder we use exclamation marks!

2 thmusondela
Because such a product is very tedious to write out, we will introduce a notation to write such products
more concisely, the exclamation mark! .The exclamation mark! is called the factorial symbol. Many
counting problems involve multiplying together long strings of numbers. Factorial notation is simply a
short hand way of writing down some of these products. The symbol n! reads as ‘n factorial’ and means n(n
− 1)(n − 2) · · · 2. ×1.

DEFINITION If n is a counting number, the symbol n! , called n factorial, stands for the product
n · (n - 1) · (n - 2) · (n - 3) · . . . · 2 · 1. We define 0! = 1.

Example 1
(a) Evaluate 4! (b) 7! (c) 6!
Solution
(a) 4! = 4 ×3 ×2×1 = 24 (b) 𝟕! = 7 × 6 × 5 .× 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 5 040 (c) 6! = 720
Note: Many people think that 0! Ought to be 0, but this would give rise to problems of dividing by 0.
We shall see that the formulae we’ll be deriving make more sense if 0! = 1.
ACTIVITY
How many different ways could you arrange 4 books P, Q, R and S on a shelf ?
There are 6 possible outcomes that start with P:
PQRS
PQSR
PRSQ
PRQS
PSRQ 24 different ways to arrange 4 books
PSQR
Now start with Q (6 possibilities)
Now start with R (6 possibilities)
Now start with S (6 possibilities)
Instead of writing down all the possibilities, we can find the answer by using the factorial (!) key on a
calculator. 4! = 4 . 3 . 2 . 1 = 24

ACTIVITY 1

Use the factorial key on the calculator to find

(a) 10! (b) 5 ! (c) 6! (d) 7! (e) 12! (f) 1 ! (g) 8! (h) 7! (i) 0! A factorial is when we take a
positive integer and find the product of all descending positive integers, including itself, all the way to 1: n! = n ·
(n – 1) · (n – 2) ··· 3 · 2 · 1 We say n! as “n factorial.” E.g., given 5!, then we say “5 factorial.”

3 thmusondela
PERMUTATION
The word ‘permutations’ means ‘arrangements’. We use it to refer to the number of ways of arranging a set
of objects in a certain order. In other words, we use permutations when we are concerned about ‘order’. A
permutation is an arrangement of objects in which order is important. For instance, the 6 possible
permutations of the letters A, B, and C are shown. ABC, ACB, BAC, BCA, CAB,CBA
FUNDAMENTAL COUNTING PRINCIPLE:
Fundamental Counting Principle counts the number of ways a task can occur given a series of events.
Basically you multiply the number of possibilities each event of the task can occur. To find the number of
Permutations of n items, we can use the Fundamental Counting Principle or factorial notation.
If event M can occur in m ways and is followed by event P that can occur in p ways, then event M followed by
event P can occur in mp ways.
PERMUTATIONS WITHOUT REPETITION- NUMBER OF DISTINCT PERMUTATIONS
A permutation of n objects taken r at a time is an arrangement of k of the n objects in a specific order. The
symbol for this number is P(n,r). Remember:
1. A permutation is an arrangement or sequence of selections of objects from a single set.
2. Repetitions are not allowed. Equivalently the same element may not appear more than once in an
arrangement.
3. the order in which the elements are selected or arranged is significant.
General formula for the number of arrangements of n different objects taken r at a time.
Now let’s work out a general formula for the number of arrangements of n different objects taken r at a time.
Here there are r boxes to fill.
 The first can be filled in n ways.
 The second can be filled in (n − 1) ways.
 The third can be filled in (n − 2) ways.
 The rth box can be filled in n − (r − 1) = (n − r + 1) ways.
So the total number of arrangements is
 n(n−1)(n−2) · · · (n−r +1) = n(n − 1)(n − 2) · · · (n − r + 1)(n − r) · · · 2×1
𝒏!
 (n − r)(n − r − 1) · · · 2.1 = (𝒏 − 𝒓)! .

Here we multiplied top and bottom by (n − r)(n − r − 1) · · · 2.1. We denote this as nPr.
An ORDER of arrangements of r objects, without repetition, selected from n distinct objects is called a
permutation of n objects taken r at a time, and is denoted as

4 thmusondela
 𝒏!
𝒏𝑷𝒓 = 𝑛 × (𝑛 − 1) × (𝑛 − 2) × . . .× (𝑛 − 𝑟 + 1) =
(𝒏 − 𝒓)!
PERMUTATION LOCK
 Order matters
 Codes,
 Passwords,
 Batting order,
 Players in position, president, secretary, treasurer
 Arrangements
Use permutation lock to explain why these are permutation questions
(a) A committee has 9 members. In how many ways can a president, secretary, and treasurer be selected?
A cast has 2 female and 3 male leads. There are 8 females and 9 males auditioning. In how any ways can the
cast be chosen?
EXAMPLE

(a) Evaluate 7𝑃3 (a) Evaluate 9𝑃3 (a) Evaluate 5𝑃2 (a) Evaluate 12𝑃8
7! 9! 5! 12!
7𝑃3 = 9𝑃3 = 5𝑃2 = 7𝑃3 =
(7 − 3)! (9 − 3)! (5 − 2)! (12 − 8)!
7! 9! 5! 12!
= = = =
4! 6! 3! 8!
=7 x 6 x 5 =9 x 8 x 7 =5 x4 =12 x 11 x 10 x9
= 210 = 502 = 20 = 19958400

ACTIVITY 2

Evaluate
1. 𝟑𝑷𝟑 2. 5P2 3. 2P1 4. 7P6 5. 8P5 6. 9P4 7. 12P3 8. 16P0
You can calculate permutations on your calculator:
First enter the value of n. Then press SHIFT, select nCr, last enter the value of r (which the calculator calls
nPr) and press ENTER.

Fact . There are n! possible permutations of n distinct objects.

EXAMPLE 1: Calculate the number arrangements of the word ‘’DISCOVERY’

Solution

5 thmusondela
 All the letters in the word ‘’DISCOVERY’, by Fundamental Counting Principle, the word
“DISCOVERY” has 9 letters which can be arranged in 9! ways
Hence the required number = 9! = 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 362880. since all the letters
are different we can use a permutation button on our calculator. 9P9=9!
EXAMPLE 2: Calculate the number arrangements of the word NATURE
Solution
All the letters in the word ‘’ NATURE’, by Fundamental Counting Principle, the word
“NATURE” has 6 letters which can be arranged in 6! ways
Hence the required number = 6! = 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 720.

ACTIVITY 3

1. Calculate the number arrangements of the word

(a) LUSAKA (b) EDWIN (c) GROSJEAN (d) ABC (e) MILDRED
(f) FLORIDA (g) MAGNETIC (h) GOLDFINCH (i) LOGARITHM (j) MONZE
2. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters in the word.
(a) CHIMUKA (b) JET (c) IOWA (d) TEXAS (e) PENCIL
(f) FACTOR (g) COMPUTER (j) HYPERBOLA (i) KE (k)TEAM
2. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters in the word.
(a) SYDNEY (b) OBJECTS (c) PREVIOUSLY (d) SANDWICH? (e) COWDUNG

3 In how many different ways can a supermarket manager display 5 brands of sweets in 3 spaces on a shelf?
Repetitions are not allowed.
5 How many ways permutations are there of the 13 letters in the word UNPREDICTABLY?
6. A boy has 5 different toy soldiers. In how many ways can he arrange them to stand in a line?

PERMUTATIONS WITH REPEATED ELEMENTS

In the previous section, we saw that there are 9! Permutations of the three letters in the word DISCOVERY
and 13! Permutations of the 13 letters in the word UNPREDICTABLY. We made an important note: In each
of these words, there was no repeated letter. In the words ‘’LUSAKA’, EDWIN, GROSJEAN and
MILDRED all the letters are different. What would be the number of arrangement in words such as

6 thmusondela
ALLAHABAD, HAMWEEMBA, EXAMINATION, ASSASSINATION, MISSISSIPPI and
PERMUTATIONS? Note that some letters are repeating. In the name HAMWEEMBA we have 2 (A)s, 2
(M)s and 2 (E)s and the rest are different. We now consider permutations of a set where some elements are
repeated.

The number of permutations of n objects, where p objects are of the same kind and rest are all different =
𝒏!
. In fact, we have a more general theorem. The number of permutations of n objects, where P objects
𝒑!

are of one kind, q are of second kind, ..., 𝑝𝑘 are of 𝑃𝑘 th kind and the rest, if any, are of different kind is
𝒏!
𝐩! 𝒒! ...𝒑𝒌 !

Example 3: How many permutations are there of the six letters in the word BANANA?
Solution
We have three distinct letters B, A, and N. The letter B appears 1 time. The letter A appears 3
times. The letter N appears 2 times. Hence, by the above Fact, the number of possible
6!
permutations of these 6 letters is 1!3!2! = 60.
Of course, 1! is simply equal to 1. So for the denominator, we shall usually not bother to write out any
1!. So we will normally instead write that the number of permutations of
6!
BANANA is: 3!2! = 60.

WORKED EXAMPLES
Example 4: Find the number of permutations of the letters of the word ALLAHABAD.
Solution
Here, there are 9 objects (letters) of which there are 4A’s, 2 L’s and rest are all different.
𝟗! 𝟗×𝟖×𝟕×𝟔×𝟓
Therefore, the required number of arrangements = 𝟒!𝟐! = = 7560
𝟐

On a calculator, use the multiplication sign between factorial factors.

Permutation that involve colours

Example 5: A child has 12 blocks, of which 6 are black, 4 are red, 1 is white, and 1 is blue. If the child puts
the blocks in a line, how many arrangements are possible?
Solution

7 thmusondela
 12!
Answer: = 27720
6!4!1!1!

Explanation: There are 12 spots to be filled: 6 of them are black, 4 are red, 1 is white, and 1 is blue.
Think of the spots as a collection which we are to partition into 4 sub collections of sizes 6,4,1, and
1. In other words, we must decide for each spot whether it is to be black, red, white, or blue, but we
12!
must do this in such a way so that there are 6 blacks, 4 reds, 1 white, and 1 blue. There are =
6!4!1!1!
27720

Example 6: In how many ways can 4 red, 3 yellow and 2 green discs be arranged in a row if the discs of
the same colour are indistinguishable?

Solution
Total number of discs is 4 + 3 + 2 = 9. Out of 9 discs, 4 are of the first kind (red), 3 are of the
second kind (yellow) and 2 are of the third kind (green).
9!
Therefore, the number of arrangements =1260
4!3!2!

Example 7 In how many ways can 7 red marbles and 3 green marbles be put in a straight line,
(a) if there are no restrictions
10!
Answer: = 120. Explanation: same colour are identical).
7!3!

(b) if green marbles should not be next to each other?

6! 8C3×3!
This is same as 6! × ( )
3!

=1 × 8C3
= 56

Explanation:
7!
First arrange 7 red marbles _R_R_R_R_R_R_R_. This can be done in 7! = 1 ways.
Now select 3 places from among 8 places (including extremes) & put the green flowers there and arrange
8C3×3!
them. This can be done in 3! =8C5 = 56. The number of ways = 1 × 56 = 56.

Example
In how many ways we can arrange 3 red flowers, 4 yellow flowers and 5 white flowers in a row.
(a) if there are no restrictions
Solution.
12!
Answer: = 27720.
3!4!5!

8 thmusondela
Explanation: Flowers of same colour are identical. Total we have 12 flowers 3 red, 4 yellow and 5 white.
12!
Number of arrangements = = 27720.
3!4!5!
(b) In how many ways this is possible if the white flowers are to be separated in any arrangement

7! 8C5×5!
Answer ×( )
4!3! 5!

=35 × 56
= 1960

Explanation:
7!
First arrange 3 red & 4 yellow _R_R_R_Y_Y_Y_Y_. This can be done in 3!4 = 35 ways.
Now select 5 places from among 8 places (including extremes) & put the white flowers there. This can be
done in 8C5 = 56. The number of ways = 35 × 56 = 1960.
Example 8. A navigation signal is made of flags arranged in a row. If there are 4 red flags, 2 blue flags and
2 green flags, find the number of different signals possible if
(a) we can use all the flags

(b) at least 7 flags must be used for the signal.

Solution
(4+2+2)!
(a) Number of different signals possible = = 420
4!2!2!

(b) Number of different signals possible if 7 flags are used

= Arrange(4R,2B,1G)+Arrange(4R,1B,2G)+Arrange(4R,2B,1G)+Arrange(3R,2B,2G)
4+2+1 4+1+2 (3+2+2)!
= + + = 420
!4!2!1! !4!1!2! 3!2!2!

The number of different signals possible if at least 7 flags must be used for the signal

= 420+420=𝟖𝟒𝟎

Example 7: How many different words without repeating a letter can be made from the word
CALCULUS?
Solution
How many distinguishable permutations can be made from the letters in CALCULUS?
8!
We can arrange C in 2! ways, the L in 2! ways and the U in 2! ways. 2!2!2! = 7! = 5040 ways

9 thmusondela
Example 8: Consider the five digits: 31232. How many different numbers can be formed using these
digits?

5!
Solution We can arrange 3 in 2! ways and the 2 in 2! ways. 2!2! = 30 different numbers

Example 9: Find the number of permutations of the letters of the word MISSISSIPPI.

Solution
If we weren’t worried about repetition, we would say that there are 11! ways to rearrange the letters
in the word MISSISSIPPI. There is a problem however, since we cannot tell one S from the other.
The same can be said about the I and the P.

How do we account for the repetition?

Recall that the 11! Came from the Multiplication Principle. If we need to remove some possibilities,
we must divide those possibilities. (Recall the Superman-Kryptonite example – multiplication
dies with division.) Let’s remove the possibilities of repetition by dividing out the number of ways
each repeated letter could be arranged.

We can arrange S in 4! ways, the I in 4! ways and the P in 2! ways. Thus, the number of
11!
distinguishable permutations of the letters in the word MISSISSIPPI is 4!4!2! ways

Example 10:

(a) How many arrangements are there of the letters of the word SCROOGE?
(b) In how many of arrangements are there of the letters of the word SCROOGE in which the O' s
together?
Solution
7!
(a) 2! = 2520

Explanation: If the O' s were different, there would be 7! Arrangements. But the O' s can be
permuted without changing the arrangements.
7!
Hence there are: arrangements 2! = 2520
2!
(b) 6! × 2! = 720

10 thmusondela
 Explanation: If the O' s are kept together, then they can be considered as one single letter. The
2!
number of arrangements is therefore: 6! × 2! = 720

Generally, the number of distinguishable permutations of n objects of which n1 are

of one kind, n2 are of another kind, …,nk are of another kind is given by:

n!
n1!n2!…nk

ACTIVITY 4

1. How many different words can be made from rearrangements of the letters of the words?

(a) BOOKKEEPER [151200]

(b) FOOTBALL? [10080]
(c) BANANA? [60]
(d) ALPACA? [120]
(e) TRIGONOMETRY. [59,875,200]
(f) MATHEMATICS [4989600]
NB: If objects in the set, being arranged in a specific order, are considered the same/identical, then the
problem is considered to be a distinguishable permutation

ACTIVITY 4

1. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters in the word.?

(a) HANNAH (b) BARBARA (c) MISSISSIPPI [90], [210], [34650]
(d) STREETS. (e) ESTEEMED (f). TENNESSEE [630], [1680], 3[780 ]

2 (a). Find the number of different ways of placing 15 balls in a row given that 4 are red, 3 are yellow, 6 are
black, & 2 are blue. [6306300]
(b). Fourteen construction workers are to be assigned to three different tasks. Seven workers are needed
for mixing cement, five for laying bricks, & two for carrying bricks. In how many different ways can the
workers be assigned to these tasks? [72072]
(c) A child has 12 blocks, of which 6 are black, 4 are red, 1 is white, and 1 is blue. If the child puts the
blocks in a line, how many arrangements are possible? [27720]

11 thmusondela
 (b) . In how many ways can 17 billiard balls be arranged , if 7 of them are black, 6 red and 4 white?.
[40,84,080]

3. A company has 12 construction workers. The manager plans to assign 3 to job site A, 4 to job site B and 5
to job site C. In how many different ways can the manager make this assignment? 𝟐𝟕𝟕𝟐𝟎

4. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters in the word.?

(a) HAMWEEMBA, (b) EXAMINATION, (c) ASSASSINATION (d) PERMUTATIONS
(e) BEGINNING (f) CABBAGE (g) TRINITY (c) MUNACHONGA
(i) GEOMETRY. (j) RUNNING? (k). ALGEBRA (l) ALABAMA
5. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters in the word.?
(m). MISSOURI (n) CONNECTICUT (p) DAD (q). PUPPY
(r) OREGON (s) . LETTER (t) MUSONDELA (u) KATIMBA
6. How many different ordered arrangements can be made from these words?
(a) CENTIPEDE (b) ALGEBRA (c) TELEVISION (d) ANTARCTICA (e) DONOR
(f) BASKETBALL (g) GREEDY (h) DUTIFUL (i) MANUFACTURER (j) PANAMA
(k) YELLOW (l) AEROPLANE (m) HONOLULU (n) MISSISSIPPI (p) SECONDARY
7 There are 3 identical white tiles and 4 identical black tiles. How many ways are there of arranging these 7
tiles in a row?
8. Find the number of different ways of placing 15 balls in a row 4 are red,3 are yellow, 6 are black and 2 are
blue
Permutations with Restrictions
Example 11:

There are 4 brothers and 3 sisters. In how many ways can they be arranged ...
(a) in a line, without any 2 brothers being next to each other?
(b) in a line, without any 2 sisters being next to each other?
SOLUTION

(a) First consider the problem of permuting the seven letters in BBBBSSS, without any two B’s next
to each other. There is only 1 possible arrangement, namely BSBSBSB. There are 4! ways to permute
the brothers and 3! ways to permute the sisters. Hence, there are in total 1 × 4!3! = 144 possible ways
to arrange the siblings in a line, so that no two brothers are next to each other.
(b) First consider the problem of permuting the seven letters in BBBBSSS, without any two S’s next to each
other. We’ll use the AP.
12 thmusondela
1. B in position #1.
(a) B in position #2. Then the only way to fill the remaining five positions is SBSBS.
Total: 1 possible arrangement.
(b) S in position #2. Then we must have B in position #3.
i. B in position #4. Then the only way to fill the remaining three positions is SBS.
Total: 1 possible arrangement.
ii. S in position #4. Then we must have B in position #5. And there are two ways to fill the remaining
two positions: either BS or SB. Total: 2 possible arrangements.
2. S in position #1. Then we must have B in position #2.
(a) B in position #3. Then, like in 1(b), we are left with two B’s and two S’s to fill the remaining four
positions. Hence, Total: 3 possible arrangements.
(b) S in position #3. Then we must have B in position #4. There are three ways to fill the remaining
three positions: SBB, BSB, and BBS. Total: 3 possible arrangements.
By the AP, there are 1 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 3 = 10 possible arrangements.
Again, there are 4! ways to permute the brothers and 3! ways to permute the sisters.
Hence, there are in total 10 × 4!3! = 1440 possible ways to arrange the siblings in a line, so that no two
sisters are next to each other.
Example 12:

At a dance party, there are 7 heterosexual married couples (and thus 14 people in total. How many ways are
there of arranging them in a line, with the restriction that every person is next to his or her partner?
SOLUTION
Think of there as being 7 units (each unit being a couple). There are 7! ways to arrange these 7 units
in a line. Within each unit, there are 2 possible arrangements.
Hence, in total, there are 7! × 27 = 645120 possible arrangements.

ACTIVITY 4

1. (a) Calculate the number arrangements of the word ‘’DISCOVERY’. 9! = 362880

(c) Seven runners are hoping to take part in a race, but the truck has only five lanes.
In how many ways can five of the seven runners be assigned to the lanes? 7𝑃5 = 2520

2 (a) Calculate the number of arrangements of the name GROSJEAN 8! = 40320

13 thmusondela
(b) A family consists of a father, mother and six children. Find the number of ways of arranging them in a
straight line if
(a) there are no restrictions 8! = 40320
(b) the arrangements start and end with a parent 6! × 2! = 1440
Example 13:

Using a standard 52-card deck, how many ways are there of arranging any 3 cards in a line, with the
restriction that no two cards of the same suit are next to each other?
SOLUTION

This is the problem of filling in 3 spaces with 52 distinct objects. For space #1, we have 52 possible choices.
_ _ _.
For space #2, having picked a card of suit X for space #1, we must pick a card from some other suit Y. And
so there are only 39 possible choices (we have three suits available — that’s 3 × 13 = 39).
For space #3, having picked a card of suit Y for space #2, we must pick a card from some other suit Z. Note
that suit Z can be the same as suit X. And so there are 38 possible choices
(we have three suits available, less the card used for space #1 — that’s 3 × 13 − 1 = 38).
Altogether then, there are 52 × 39 × 38 possible arrangements.

A. PERMUTATION OF OBJECTS WHEN AN OBJECT CAN BE PLACED REPEATEDLY.

THEOREM 1:
The number of permutations of n different objects taken r at a time, repetition of objects allowed, is
𝒏𝒓 .

14 thmusondela
The first place may be filled with any one of n objects. After the first place has been filled up, the second
place can also be filled in n ways since we are not prevented from repeating the same object. When the first
two places have been filled in n × n ways, the third place can also be filled up in n ways and so on.

Example 14
How many three-digit numbers can be made from the integers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 if there is no restriction on the
number of times each integer can be used?

Solution

Number of ways of making the three-digit numbers

= 5  5  5 (repetition is allowed) = 125

Example 14
How many three-digit numbers can be made from the integers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 if
(i) each integer is used only once?
(ii) there is no restriction on the number of times each integer can be used? 125
Solution
(i) n = 5 r = 3, There are 60 different arrangements.
(ii) Number of ways of making the three-digit numbers
= 5  5  5 (repetition is allowed)
= 125

Example: 15
How many 4-digit numbers can be formed with the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 when a digit may be repeated any
number of times in any arrangement?
Solution :
Since there is no restriction on repetition of digits, each one of the thousand's, hundred's, ten's and
unit's digits can be filled in 6 ways. ∴Required number of numbers = 6.6.6.6= 64 = 1296

Example 16
Find the number of arrangements of 4 digits taken from the set { 1, 2, 3, 4}
In how many ways can these numbers be arranged so that
(a) The numbers begin with digit ‘1’
(b) The numbers do not begin with digit ‘1’
Solution
Number of arrangements of 4 digits = 4! = 24
(a) If the arrangements begin with digit ‘1’, then the number of ways the 3 remaining
15 thmusondela
 digits can be arranged = 3! = 6
(b) The number of arrangements that do not begin with digit ‘1’ = 24 – 6 = 18

THEOREM 2:
The number of permutations of n different objects taken r (r < n), at a time, repetition of objects not
allowed, is given by
P(n, r) = n(n – 1) (n – 2) … (n – r + 1)

EXPLANATION:
 The first place can be filled up in n different ways because any one of n given objects can be put
there.
 When the first place has been filled up, we are left with (n – 1) objects. Any one of them can be
put in second place.
 Similarly, 3rd place can be filled with n – 2 objects, fourth with n – 3 objects, …, and rth place can
be filled in n – (r – 1) i.e. n – r + 1 ways. By fundamental principle of counting, r places can be
filled up in n(n – 1) (n… (n – r + 1)= P(n, r)
This is a direct application of the multiplication principle. Notation and definition

𝑛!
: 𝑛𝑃𝑟 = (𝑛− 𝑟)!

ACTIVITY 4

Permutation
An ORDER of arrangements of r objects, without repetition, selected from n distinct
objects is called a permutation of n objects taken r at a time, and is denoted as
𝒏!
𝒏𝑷𝒓 = (𝒏−𝒓 )!

Example: 17
How many different 4 letter arrangements can we make of the letters in the word ‘CATS’, using each letter
once only?
Solution
16 thmusondela
 We have four positions to fill.
4 3 2 1
There are four choices for position 1. For each of those choices there are 3 letters left, and so 3 ways
to fill position 2. So by the counting principle there are 4×3 ways of filling the first 2 positions. For
each of these choices there are now 2 letters left and there are two ways of filling the third position.
The remaining letter must then go in the last position.
Thus by the counting principle, there are 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 4!. Possible arrangements, ie 24 of them.
𝟒! 𝟒!
This is same as 𝟒𝑷𝟒 = (𝟒−𝟒)! = 𝟎! = 𝟒! = 𝟐𝟒

Example 18
How many 3 letter ‘words’ can be made using the letters A, B, C, D, E, and F if each letter can be used at
most once?
Solution
We have four positions to fill
6 5 4
The first box can be filled in 6 ways, the second in 5 ways and the third in 4 ways, ie the number of
permutations of 6 letters taken 3 at a time is 6 × 5 × 4.
If we wish the use the convenient factorial notation, multiply top and bottom by 3×2×1 to get
6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 6!
= = 6𝑃3
3 × 2 × 1 3!
𝟔!
This is same as 𝟔𝑷𝟑 = (𝟔−𝟑)! = 6 × 5 × 4 = 120

Example 19
How many 4 letter words, with or without meaning, can be formed out of the letters of the word WONDER, if repetition of
letters is not allowed ?
Solution.
As there are 6 different alphabets in the word WONDER, repetition of letters not allowed, any four
of them can be arranged in 6P4 ways.
Hence the required number of 4 letter words = 6P4 = 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 = 360.

Question 20:
Given 5 flags of different colours, how many different signals can be generated if each signal requires
the use of 2 flags, one below the other?
Answer
Each signal requires the use of 2 flags.

17 thmusondela
 There will be as many flags as there are ways of filling in 2 vacant places in succession by the given 5
flags of different colours.
The upper vacant place can be filled in 5 different ways by any one of the 5 flags following which,
the lower vacant place can be filled in 4 different ways by any one of the remaining 4 different flags.
Thus, by multiplication principle, the number of different signals that can be generated is 5 × 4 = 20.

Example 21:
How many 4 letter words, with or without meaning, can be formed out of the letters of the word WONDERFUL, if repetition
of letters is not allowed?
Solution.
As there are 9 different alphabets in the word WONDERFUL, repetition of letters not allowed, any
four of them can be arranged in 9P4 ways.
Hence the required number of 4 letter words = 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 = 3024.
Task
(a) In the 100 m race at the Olympics, there are 8 lanes. In how many ways can gold, silver, and bronze be
awarded?

PERMUTATION DUE TO POSITIONS

The selection of some listed out Positions is permutation because by listing of the position entails that
order is important
Example:22
How many ways can a president, vice-president, and secretary-treasurer for a high school Safe Grad committee be
selected from 58 Grade 12 students?
Solution
Choosing a particular student for president is different from choosing that student for vice-
president or secretary-treasurer. That is, order matters. So, use the permutation formula.
𝑛!
𝑛𝑃𝑟 = 𝑛 –𝑟 Substitute: n = 58 and r = 3
58! 58!
58𝑃3 = (58 − 3)! = = 55! = 58 × 57 × 56 = 185136

There are 185 136 ways to select the Safe Grad committee.

18 thmusondela
Example: 23. Find the number of ways in which a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman can be chosen from amongst a
group of 12 persons assuming that one person can not hold more than one position
Solution.
Clearly since the positions of Chairman and a Vice-Chairman are listed this is permutation.
12! 12!
12𝑃2 =(12 − 2)! = =12×11 = 132.
10!

Example 24
How many ways can a four-person executive committee (president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer) be
selected from a 16-member board of directors of a non-profit organization?
Solution
16P4 = 16 · 15 · 14 · 13 = 43,680.
Explanation: We want to choose 4 people out of 16 without replacement and where the order of
selection is important. So, the answer is 16P4 = 16 · 15 · 14 · 13 = 43,680.

Example: 25
There are 8 men who are to be appointed as General Manager at 8 branches of a supermarket chain. In how
many ways can the 8 men be assigned to the 8 branches?
Solution:
Since every re-arrangement of the 8 men will be considered as a different assignment, the number of ways
8!
will be 8 𝑃8 = ( 8−8 )! = (8 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1) = 40,320 ways

Example 26
A number of 4 different digits is formed by using the digits 1, 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ,7 , 8 in al l possible ways . Find
how many numbers are greater than 3000
Explanation: Thousand place can be filled by any one of the digits 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 in 6P1 ways
Having done that the remaining 3 places can be filled by any 3 of the remaining 7 digits in
7P3 ways By fundamental principle of Multiplication,
Total numbers formed = 6P1 x 7P3 = 6 x 7 x 6 x 5 = 1260

Example: 27
Nine runners are hoping to take part in a race, but the truck has only seven lanes.
In how many ways can five of the seven runners be assigned to the lanes?
19 thmusondela
Solution.
Key word is be assigned This is permutation.
9! 9!
9𝑃7 =(9 − 7)! = 2! = 181440

ACTIVITY

1. There are 10 finalists in a figure skating competition. How many ways can gold, silver, and bronze medals
be awarded? [720]

2. A club has nine members. In how many ways can a president, vice president, and secretary be chosen
from the members of this club? [504]
3. From a committee of 8 persons, in how many ways can we choose a chairman and a vice chairman
assuming one person can not hold more than one position?
4. In how many ways can choose a President, secretary and treasurer for a club be chosen from 12
candidates, if each candidate is eligible for each position, but no candidate can hold 2 positions? [1320]
5. Ten horses are running in a race. In how many different ways can the horses finish first, second, and
third? (Assume there are no ties. [720

6. Eight runners are hoping to take part in a race, but the truck has only sis lanes. In how many ways can
five of the seven runners be assigned to the lanes? [20160]
7. A club with 10 members needs to select a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. These must
be different members; for example the President cannot also be the Secretary. In how many ways can this be
done? 5040.
8. In how many ways can a local chapter of the American Chemical Society schedule three speakers for
three different meetings if they are all available on any of five possible dates?
9. In how many ways can two paintings by Monet, three paintings by Renoir, and two paintings by Degas
be hung side by side on a museum wall if we do not distinguish between the paintings by the same artists?
[210]
10. Four names are drawn from among the 24 members of a club for the offices of president, vice president,
treasurer, and secretary. In how many different ways can this be done? [255024]
11. A club has four officials: president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. If a member cannot hold
more than one office, in how many ways can the officials be elected if the club has : a. 12 members b. 16
members
12. There are 8 cans of soup on a shelf. Three of the cans contain tomato soup and the other 5 cans are all different.
How many ways can the cans be arranged in a row? [6720]

20 thmusondela
13. In a school soccer league with seven teams, in how many ways can they finish in the positions "winner",
"runner-up" and "third place?" [210]

Pupil’s activity

1. A family consists of a father, mother and six children. Find the number of ways of arranging them in a
straight line if
(a) there are no restrictions
(b) the arrangements start and end with a parent

3. In how many ways can 9 different books be arranged on a shelf so that:

(a) 3 of the books are always together [30,240]
(b) 3 of the books are never all 3 together? [332,640]

5. How many 8 letter words can be made from the word ABSOLUTE
(a) with no restrictions [40 320]
(b) if it must start with an A [5040]
(c) if A and B must be together [10 080]

6. How many 3-digit numbers can be formed from the digits 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 assuming that
(i) repetition of the digits is allowed? [125]
(ii) repetition of the digits is not allowed? [60]

7. How many ways can 6 girls and 2 boys be arranged in a row;

(a) without restriction? [40320]
(b) such that the 2 boys are together? [30240]
(c) such that the 2 boys are not together? [10080]
8 . How many ways are there to seat 10 people, consisting of 5 couples, in a row of seats if
(a) the seats are assigned at random? [3,628,800]
(b) all couples are to get adjacent seats? [3840]

Pupil’s activity

21 thmusondela
1. In how many different ways can the letters of the word 'LEADING' be arranged in such a way that the
vowels are together? [720]

2(a) . In how many ways can 6 white flags and 3 blue flags be arranged one above another on a single rope
on a flagstaff? [84]
(b)Three hardcover books and 5 paperbacks are placed on a shelf. How many ways can the books be
arranged if all the hardcover books must be together and all the paperbacks must be together?[1440]

2. (a) How many permutations are there of the letters of the set A,B,C,D take three at a time? [24]
(b) . A club has 28 members. In how many ways can the president, treasurer and secretary be chosen to
form a committee of three? [19656]

6. In a class of 24 students a first and a second prize are to be awarded.

In how many different ways can this be done? [552]
19. In how many ways can 5 different Latin books, 4 different Greek books and 3 different French books be
arranged on a shelf so that the books in each language come together? 103680]
7. Given an n-gon with all its diagonals drawn, find the number of internal intersections points of the
diagonals if no 3 or more diagonals are concurrent.
8. In how many ways can a man who has 10 different chairs put 5 in one room, 3 in a second and 2 in a third
room? [2520]
10. In how many ways can a committee of 9 be formed from 10 men and their wives, if no husband serves on
it with his wife? [5120]
11. There are 6 ornaments on my mantelpiece. In how many ways can I put 3 more on it without changing
the order of those already there? [504]
12. Eight boys and two girls sit on a bench. If the girls may sit neither at the ends nor together, in how many
ways can they be arranged? [1,693,440]
13. There are 10 seats in a row in a waiting room. There are six people in the room.
(a) In how many different ways can they be seated? [151200]
(b) In the group of six people, there are three sisters who must sit next to each other. In how many
different ways can the group be seated? [10 080]

22 thmusondela
14. In how many ways can 4 Algebra, 3 Geometry, 2 Trigonometry and 2 Calculus books be arranged in a
shelf if:
(a) arrangement is in no particular order? [39 916 800
(b) books of the same topic must be arranged next to each other? [13 824]
(c) Algebra books are arranged next to each other while the rest may be arranged in any order? [110960]

15. From a class of 20 students the teacher needs to form a committee of 3 students to assist her in leading
the class in the fieldtrip. One has to take the role of the class captain, one to be the class monitor and the
third one to be class secretary. In how many ways can the teacher form the committee if all of the 20
students are equally competent to take any role? [6480]

16. There are 10 books in a shelf, in how many ways can they be arranged…
(a) If all books will be included in the arrangement? 3628800
(b) If 4 books were taken out and only 6 books were left to be arranged? [151200]

Pupil’s activity

1. How many words, with or without meaning, each of 2 vowels and 3 consonants can be formed from the
letters of the word DAUGHTER?
2. How many words, with or without meaning, can be formed using all the letters of the word EQUATION
at a time so that the vowels and consonants occur together?
3. A committee of 7 has to be formed from 9 boys and 4 girls. In how many ways can this be done when the
committee consists of: (i) exactly 3 girls ? (ii) at least 3 girls ? (iii) at most 3 girls ?
4. If the different permutations of all the letter of the word EXAMINATION are listed as in a dictionary,
how many words are there in this list before the first word starting with E?
5. How many 6-digit numbers can be formed from the digits 0, 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 which are divisible by 10 and
no digit is repeated?
6. The English alphabet has 5 vowels and 21 consonants. How many words with two different vowels and 2
different consonants can be formed from the alphabet?
7. In an examination, a question paper consists of 12 questions divided into two parts i.e., Part I and Part II,
containing 5 and 7 questions, respectively. A student is required to attempt 8 questions in all, selecting at
least 3 from each part. In how many ways can a student select the questions?

23 thmusondela
8. Determine the number of 5-card combinations out of a deck of 52 cards if each selection of 5 cards has
exactly one king.
9. It is required to seat 5 men and 4 women in a row so that the women occupy the even places. How many
such arrangements are possible?
10. From a class of 25 students, 10 are to be chosen for an excursion party. There are 3 students who decide
that either all of them will join or none of them will join. In how many ways can the excursion party be
chosen?
11. In how many ways can the letters of the word ASSASSINATION be arranged so that all the S’s are
together?

Pupil’s activity

ARRANGEMENT OF DIGITS
Forming numbers is same as ‘arranging digits’ and the funda to be used in the basic Rule of AND. However
while forming numbers; there can be many conditions like forming even numbers, forming numbers
greater than a given number, forming numbers that are divisible by a given number etc.
Example 28
Using digits 1, 2, 3 and 4, how many 3 digit numbers can be formed if repetition of digits is allowed?
Solution
Since a digit can be re-used, each of the 3 positions can be filled in 4 ways and thus the total possible
numbers that can be formed is 4 × 4 × 4 = 64.
In this example we could not use nPr because repetitions are allowed.
Example 29
How many 3-digit numbers can be formed from the digits 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 assuming that repetition of
the digits is allowed?
Answer 1:
(i) There will be as many ways as there are ways of filling 3 vacant places in succession by the given
five digits. In this case, repetition of digits is allowed. Therefore, the units place can be filled in by
any of the given five digits. Similarly, tens and hundreds digits can be filled in by any of the given
five digits.
Thus, by the multiplication principle, the number of ways in which three-digit numbers can be
formed from the given digits is 5 × 5 × 5 = 125

24 thmusondela
Example 30:
Using digits 1, 2, 3 and 4, how many 3 digit numbers can be formed if repetition of digits is not allowed?
Solution
While this question may appear very easy since we have already discussed this, do pay attention to
the explanation in the box since it makes a few observations which will be useful to us later …
The number of ways in which the 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place can be filled is 4, 3, and 2
respectively. Thus the total possible numbers that can be formed is 4 × 3 × 2 = 24 different numbers
can be formed. This is same as 4P3, in notation.

Example 31:
Using digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, how many 5 digit EVEN numbers can be formed, without repeating any
digit?
Solution
In this question there is a condition on the digits that can occupy the units position. In questions
like these, when there is a condition on a certain position, we would NECESSARILY have to start
by filling this position first i.e. satisfying the condition.
The units place could be filled in with only 2, 4 or 6 i.e. in 3 ways. Having filled the units place, four
more places have to be filled and we have 6 digits remaining. This can be done in a total of 6 × 5 × 4 ×
3 = 360 ways (in notation this will be 6P4). For each of the 3 ways of filling the units place, there are
further 360 ways to fill the remaining 4 places. Thus the total number of 5 digit even numbers that can
be formed is 3 × 360 = 1080.
Example 33
Using digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, how many four digit numbers can be formed using each digit only once?

When 0 (zero) is being used

Whenever 0 can be used and one has to form, say a four-digit number, please be careful that 0 cannot
be placed in the leading position else it will not be a four-digit number.
Thus, while it appears that there is no condition given in the question, there is an implicit condition
that 0 cannot appear in the leading position. And as learnt above, since there is a condition, we will
have to start by satisfying this condition first. If we fill in other positions (apart from leading
position in this case) then at end we would not have a fixed number of ways in which the leading
position can be filled for all the earlier cases.

25 thmusondela
 5 5 4 3
So that 0 does not appear in the leading position, we have to start by filling the thousands place. It
can be filled only in 5 ways using any one of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. After filling this place, we are left with 5
digits (including zero) and three places to fill and this can be done in 5 × 4 × 3 ways (0 can appear in
any of the positions). Thus total number of required numbers that can be formed is 5 × 5 × 4 × 3 =
300.
Example 31
: Using digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (without repetition), find the number of distinct 4 digit numbers greater
than 3000 that can be formed
Solution
Answer: 5 × (6 × 5 × 4) = 600
Explanation: The thousand’s digit can be filled in 5 ways (any one of 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7). Now one is left
with 6 digits and has to arrange 3 of them. This can be done in 6P3 = 6 × 5 × 4 ways. Thus a total of
such numbers can be formed.

Example 32 A
: Using digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (without repetition), find the number of distinct 4 digit even numbers
that can be formed
Solution
Answer: 6 × 5 × 4) × 3 = 360
Explanation: The unit’s digit can be filled in three ways (2, 4 or 6). Now we are left with 6 digits
and have to arrange 3 of them. This can be done in 6P3 = 6 × 5 × 4 ways. Thus a total of (6 × 5 × 4) × 3
= 360 such numbers can be formed.

Example 6 In how many ways 3 mathematics books, 4 history books, 3 chemistry books and 2 biology
books can be arranged on a shelf so that all books of the same subjects are together.
Solution
First we take books of a particular subject as one unit. Thus there are 4 units which can be
arranged in 4! = 24 ways. Now in each of arrangements, mathematics books can be arranged in 3!
Ways, history books in 4! Ways, chemistry books in 3! ways and biology books in 2! ways. Thus the
total number of ways = 4! × 3! × 4! × 3! × 2! = 41472.

26 thmusondela
Example 32 B
Four digit numbers are to be formed from the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 without repetition .
How many numbers can be formed if each number
(a) is less than 5000
(b) begins with digit 4 or 6
(c) is between 2000 and 6000
(d) is an odd number

Solution
(a) The number of permutations = 4  6  5  4 = 480 ways

4 choices (1, 2, 3, 4)

4 6 5 4

(b) The number of permutations = 2 ( 1  6  5  4 ) = 240 ways

1 choices begins with 4 1 choices begins with 6

1 6 5 4 1 6 5 4

c)
4 choices (2, 3, 4,5)

4 6 5 4

The number of permutations = 4  6  5  4 = 480 ways

d)

The number of permutations = 5  5  4  3 = 300 ways

27 thmusondela
Example
How many four-digit even numbers can be formed from the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 to
make up numbers between 2000 and 6000
a) without repetition
b) with repetition
Solution

a) Consider the last position by two parts: “0” and “not 0”

Ends with 0 or not ends with 0

The number of permutations = (4  6  5  1 ) + ( 3  6  5  3) = 390 ways

b)

The number of permutations = 4  8  8  4 = 1024 ways.

Example 33
: Using digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (without repetition), find the number of distinct 4 digit Even numbers
greater than 3000 that can be formed
Solution
Answer: 100 + 160 = 260.
Explanation: If we start with the units digit, we need to break the three possibilities, 2, 4 and 6, into two
groups such that the number of possibilities for the thousands digit is unique for each group. The unit digit
could be 2 OR (4, 6)…
____ ____ ____ ____2 OR ____ ____ ____ ____ 4, 6

Considering the case that the units digit is 2:

The units digit can be filled in only 1 way, with a 2. Having filled this, all of 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are
available for the thousands place and thus it can be filled in 5 ways. Next we are left with 5 digits
and two of which have to be arranged i.e. can be done in 5 × 4 ways.
Thus total possible numbers with units digit being 2 will be 5 × (5 × 4) × 1 = 100
Considering the case that the units digit is 4 or 6:
28 thmusondela
 The units digit can be filled in 2 ways. Having filled this, for each of these case, the digits available
for the thousands place are 3, 5, 7 and (4 or 6, whichever is not used) i.e. there are further 4
possibilities. Next we are left with 5 digits and two of which have to be arranged i.e. can be done in
5 × 4 ways. Thus total possible numbers with unit’s digit being 4 or 6 will be 4 × (5 × 4) × 2 = 160
Thus total number of even numbers greater than 3000 that can be formed will be 100 + 160 = 260.
Remarks
If we started with the thousands digit we would have to consider the following two cases:
Case 1: When thousands digit is 3, 5 or 7. In this case there would be 3 possibilities for the units digit.
Case 2: When thousands digit is 4 or 6. In this case there would be 2 possibilities for the units digit. The
answer obtained would be the same.

What if repetition of digits was allowed in this question?

If repetition of digits is allowed, it becomes very very easy, because then satisfying one condition
does not affect the possibilities for the other condition. In this question, the thousands digit can be
filled in 5 ways, the units place in 3 ways (irrespective of what is filled in thousands place) and the
other two places, each can be filled in 7 ways.
Thus the answer would have been 5 × 7 × 7 × 3 = 735

NOTE: This case is a difficult one and unlike all previous examples. In this case there are conditions
on both ends: the thousand’s digit should be 3 or greater AND the unit digit should be one of 2, 4 or
6.
3, 4, 5, 6, 7 2, 4, 6

So the thousands digit can be filled in 5 ways, units place can be filled in 3 ways. Having done this
we are left with 5 digits and two places to be filled with. So is the answer 5 × (5 × 4) × 3 = 300?
This answer is wrong. When there are two conditions, there is an interaction between the two
conditions; satisfying one condition affects the possibilities for satisfying the other condition.

If two conditions, which to satisfy first?

If we start with unit’s digit, the units digit can be filled in three ways. Having filled the units position, in how many
ways can we fill the thousands position? 5 ways? Not necessarily. We might have used the digit 4 or 6 in filling the
unit’s place and so the digit may not be available for us to be filled in the thousand’s place. And then the thousands
position can be filled in only 4 ways. Then, the answer should be 4 ways, right? Again not really. It is quite possible that
the unit digit was filled with a 2 and thus we have all of 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 i.e. 5 of them to fill the thousand’s place. Thus, after
filling the unit’s place, the answer to “in how many ways can the thousand’s place be filled” would depend on how the
unit place is filled. Whenever such a dependency comes in, its best to make use of an or condition… And the same
problem will be encountered if we start from the thousands digit ……
29 thmusondela
The thousands digit can be filled in 5 ways. Having done this …… if the thousand place was filled with a 3 or 5 or 7, then
there would be 3 ways to fill the unit’s digit. if the thousand place was filled with a 4 or 6, then there would be only 2
ways to fill the unit’s digit. Thus, it does not matter which end you start with. The only way to tackle this is using an OR
Example 34:

(a) How many four digit numbers can be formed using only the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6?
(b) How many four digit numbers from (a) have no repeated digits?
(c) How many four digit numbers from (b) are greater than 5000?
Answers:
(a) There are 6 possible digits for each of the four places in the number, so there are 6 × 6 × 6 × 6 = 64
= 1296 of these numbers.
(b) There are 6 digits for the first place and then only 5 digits for the second and so on. So there are 6
× 5 × 4 × 3 = 360 such numbers.
(c) There are 2 choices for the first digit (a 5 or a 6), then 5 choices, 4 choices and 3 choices
respectively for the remaining digits. So there are 2×5×4×3 = 120 such numbers.
Example 35:

How many 3-digit numbers can be formed from the digits 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 assuming that
(i) repetition of the digits is allowed?
(ii) repetition of the digits is not allowed?
Solution
(i) 5 × 5 × 5 = 125
Explanation: There will be as many ways as there are ways of filling 3 vacant places in succession
by the given five digits. In this case, repetition of digits is allowed. Therefore, the units place can be
filled in by any of the given five digits. Similarly, tens and hundreds digits can be filled in by any of
the given five digits.
Thus, by the multiplication principle, the number of ways in which three-digit numbers can be
formed from the given digits is 5 × 5 × 5 = 125
(ii) 5 × 4 × 3 = 60
Explanation: In this case, repetition of digits is not allowed. Here, if units place is filled in first, then
it can be filled by any of the given five digits. Therefore, the number of ways of filling the units place
of the three-digit number is 5.

30 thmusondela
 Then, the tens place can be filled with any of the remaining four digits and the hundreds place can
be filled with any of the remaining three digits.
Thus, by the multiplication principle, the number of ways in which three-digit numbers can be
formed without repeating the given digits is 5 × 4 × 3 = 60

Example 36:

How many 3-digit even numbers can be formed from the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 if the digits can be
repeated?
Answer 2:
Explanation: There will be as many ways as there are ways of filling 3 vacant places in succession
by the given six digits.
In this case, the units place can be filled by 2 or 4 or 6 only i.e., the units place can be filled in 3 ways.
The tens place can be filled by any of the 6 digits in 6 different ways and also the hundreds place can
be filled by any of the 6 digits in 6 different ways, as the digits can be repeated. Therefore, by
multiplication principle, the required number of three digit even numbers is 3 × 6 × 6 = 108

Example 37:

How many 4-letter code can be formed using the first 10 letters of the English alphabet, if no letter
can be repeated?
Answer 3:
There are as many codes as there are ways of filling 4 vacant places in succession by the first 10
letters of the English alphabet, keeping in mind that the repetition of letters is not allowed.
The first place can be filled in 10 different ways by any of the first 10 letters of the English alphabet
following which, the second place can be filled in by any of the remaining letters in 9 different ways.
The third place can be filled in by any of the remaining 8 letters in 8 different ways and the fourth
place can be filled in by any of the remaining 7 letters in 7 different ways.
Therefore, by multiplication principle, the required numbers of ways in which 4 vacant places can
be filled is 10 × 9 × 8 × 7 = 5040
Hence, 5040 four-letter codes can be formed using the first 10 letters of the English alphabet, if no
letter is repeated.

31 thmusondela
Example 38:

How many 5–digit telephone numbers can be constructed using the digits 0 to 9 if each number starts
with 67 and no digit appears more than once?
Answer 4:
It is given that the 5-digit telephone numbers always start with 67.
Therefore, there will be as many phone numbers as there are ways of filling 3 vacant places 6,7, _, _, _
by the digits 0 – 9, keeping in mind that the digits cannot be repeated.
The units place can be filled by any of the digits from 0 – 9, except digits 6 and 7.
Therefore, the units place can be filled in 8 different ways following which, the tens place can be
filled in by any of the remaining 7 digits in 7 different ways, and the hundreds place can be filled in
by any of the remaining 6 digits in 6 different ways.
Therefore, by multiplication principle, the required number of ways in which 5-digit telephone
numbers can be constructed is 8 × 7 × 6 = 336

Example 39:

A coin is tossed 3 times and the outcomes are recorded. How many possible outcomes are there?
Answer 5:
When a coin is tossed once, the number of outcomes is 2 (Head and tail) i.e., in each throw, the
number of ways of showing a different face is 2. Thus, by multiplication principle, the required
number of possible outcomes is 2 × 2 × 2 = 8

Example 40
A number of 4 different digits is to be formed by using the digits 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 .
Find how many of them are
(a) Greater than 4000
Explanation: thousand place can be filled by any one of the digits 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 in 6P1 ways
Having done that the remaining 3 places can be filled by any 3 of the remaining 8 digits in 8P3 ways
.By fundamental principle of Multiplication,
Total numbers formed = 6P1 x 8P3 = 6 x 8 x 7 x 6 = 2016
b) Divisible by 2
Explanation: unit place can be filled by any one of the digits 2 , 4 , 6 , 8 in 4P1 ways

32 thmusondela
 Having done that the remaining 3 places can be filled by any 3 of the remaining 8 digits in 8P3 ways.
By fundamental principle of Multiplication,
Total numbers formed = 4P1 x 8P3 = 4 x 8 x 7 x 6 = 1344
c) Divisible by 5
Explanation: unit place can be filled by digit ‘5 ’ in 1 way. Having done that the remaining 3 places
can be filled by any 3 of the remaining 8 digits in 8P3 ways.
By fundamental principle of Multiplication, Total numbers formed
= 1 x 8P3= 8 x 7 x 6 = 336

Example 41
How many 5 different digit number s can be formed with digits 2 , 3 , 5 , 7 , 9 which are
a) greater than 30000
Explanation: thousand place can be filled by any one of the digits 3 , 5 , 7 , 9 in 4P1 ways
Having done that the remaining 4 places can be filled by remaining 4 digits in 4P4 = 4!ways
By fundamental principle of Multiplication,
Total numbers formed = 4P1 x 4! = 4 x 24 = 96
b) less than 70000
Explanation: thousand place can be filled by any one of the digits 2 , 3 , 5 in 3P1 ways
Having done that the remaining 4 places can be filled by remaining 4 digits in 4P4 = 4!ways
By fundamental principle of Multiplication,
Total numbers formed = 3P1 x 4! = 3 x 24 = 72
b) between 30000 & 90000
Explanation: thousand place can be filled by any one of the digits 3 , 5 , 7 in 3P1 ways
Having done that the remaining 4 places can be filled by remaining 4 digits in 4P4 = 4!ways
By fundamental principle of Multiplication,
Total numbers formed = 3P1 x 4! = 3 x 24 = 72
Example 42
How many different digit numbers can be formed between 100 and 1000 using 0 , 1 , 3 , 5 and 7 which i s not
divisible by 5
Explanation: uni t place can be filled by any one of digits 1 , 3 & 7 in 3P1 ways
Having done that ,
Hundreds place can be filled by an y o n e t h e remaining3 digits (‘ 0 ’ excluded) in 3P1 ways
Having done that , tens place can then be filled by any one of the remaining 3 digits in 3P1

33 thmusondela
 Ways By fundamental principle of Multiplication,
Total numbers formed = 3P1 x 3P1 x 3P1 = 3 x 3 x 3 = 27

Example 43
. How many different digit number s are formed between 7000 and 8000 using 0 , 1 , 3 , 5 , 7 and 9 which are
divisible by 5
Explanation: t h o u s a n d p l ac e c an b e filled by digit ‘7’ in 1 way
Having done that, units place can be filled by any one of the digits 0, 5 in 2P1 ways
Having done that, remaining 2 places can be filled by any 2 of the remaining 4 digits in 4P2 ways. By
fundamental principle of Multiplication,
Total numbers formed = 1 x 2P1 x 4P2 = 1 x 2 x 4 x 3 = 24

Example 44
How many even number s of four digits can be formed using digits 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 and 6 , no digit being
used more than once
Case 1 : Numbers ending with ‘ 0’
Unit p l ac e c an be filled by digit ‘0 ’ in on e way
Having done that the remaining 3 places can be filled by any 3 of remaining 6 digits in 6P3 ways
By fundamental principle of Multiplication,
Number s formed = 1 x 6P3 = 6 x 5 x 4 = 120
Case 2 : Numbers ending with ‘ 2 , 4 , 6 ’
Unit place can be filled by any one of digits 2 , 4 , 6 in 3P1 ways
Having done that , T h o u s an d p l ac e c a n be filled by an y o n e t h e remaining5 digits(‘ 0 ’
excluded) in 5P1 ways
Having done that the remaining 2 places can be filled by any 2 of remaining 5 digits in 5P2 ways
By fundamental principle of Multiplication,
Number s formed = 3P1 x 5P1 x 5P2 = 3 x 5 x 5 x 4 = 300
By fundamental principle of ADDITION
Total numbers formed = 120 + 300 = 420

Example 45
How many 5 different digit numbers can be formed with digits 0 , 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 and 9 divisible by 5
Case 1 : Numbers ending with ‘ 0’

34 thmusondela
 Unit place can be filled by digit ‘0 ’ in on e way
Having done that the remaining 4 places can be filled by any 3 of remaining 6 digits in 6P4 ways
By fundamental principle of Multiplication,
Number s formed = 1 x 6P4 = 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 = 360
Case 2 : Numbers ending with ‘ 5’
Unit pl ac e c an be filled by digit ‘5 ’ in 1 ways
Having done that , ten Thousand place ca n be filled by any one the remaining5 digits(‘ 0 ’ excluded )
in 5P1 ways
Having done that the remaining 3 places can be filled by any 3 of remaining 5 digits in 5P3 ways
By fundamental principle of Multiplication,
Number s formed = 1 x 5P1 x 5P3 = 1 x 5 x 5 x 4 x 3 = 300
By fundamental principle of ADDITION Total numbers formed = 360 + 300 = 660

Example 46.
Three persons enter a railway carriage, where there are 5 vacant seats. In how many ways can they seat themselves?
Solution.
First man can sit on any of 5 vacant seats. Then the second can sit on any of
4 vacant seats left. And the third can sit on any of 3 vacant seats left. Hence by fundamental
principle of counting, the required number of ways = 5 × 4 × 3 = 60.
Example 47.
How many words can be formed out of the letters of the word ‘MAGIC’ taking all the letters at a time (no letter being repeated)
?
Solution
There are 5 different letters with which 5 vacant places are to be filled up. The first place can be
filled in 5 ways, as any one of the five letters M, A, G, I, C can be placed there. Having filled up the
first place in any of the 5 ways, 4 letters are left and any one of them can be placed in second place.
Hence the first two places can together be filled up in 5 × 4 ways. Now three letters are left and any
of them can be put in third place. After that, 2 letters are left and any of them can be put in fourth
place. After that only 1 letter is left and it has to be placed in fifth place. Therefore, the total number
of ways of filling up five places = 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120. Hence, the required number of words formed =
120.

Example 48

35 thmusondela
. How many 4 letter code words are possible using the first 10 letters of the English alphabet if
(i) no letter can be repeated? (ii) letters may be repeated?
Solution.
(i) No letter can be repeated.
There are 10 different ways for choosing the first letter of the code, 9 different ways for choosing the
second letter of the code, 8 ways for choosing the third letter and 7 ways for choosing the fourth
letter of the code.
Therefore, the total number of 4 letter code words = 10 × 9 × 8 × 7 = 5040.
(ii) Letters can be repeated.
There are 10 different ways for choosing the first letter of the code. As the letters can be repeated,
there are 10 different ways for choosing the second letter of the code.
Similarly, there are 10 ways of choosing for each of the third and the fourth letter of the code.
Therefore, the total number of 4 letter code words = 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 = 10000.
Example 49
Using digits 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 how many four digit numbers can be formed such that they are divisible by 3 ?
Repetition of a digit is not allowed.
Solution
The divisibility rule of 3 says that the sum of digits should be divisible by 3.
Also we have to use any four out of the 5 given digits since it is a four digit number. So first let’s
check a number formed by which 4 digits is going to be divisible by 3.
If we use 2, 3, 4 and 5 (i.e. not use 6), the sum of digits will be 14 and thus the number will not be
divisible by 3.
If we use 2, 3, 4 and 6 (i.e. not use 5), the sum of digits will be 15 and thus the number will be
divisible by 3.
If we use 2, 3, 5 and 6 (i.e. not use 4), the sum of digits will be 16 and thus the number will not be
divisible by 3.
If we use 2, 4, 5 and 6 (i.e. not use 3), the sum of digits will be 17 and thus the number will not be
divisible by 3.
If we use 3, 4, 5 and 6 (i.e. not use 2), the sum of digits will be 18 and thus the number will be
divisible by 3.
Thus only two sets of 4 digits can be used such that the number is divisible by 3 viz. (2, 3, 4 and 6)
or (3, 4, 5 and 6)

36 thmusondela
 With each of these sets, we can form 4P4= 4! i.e. 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24 numbers and thus a total of 48
numbers divisible by 3 can be formed.
Example 4
A witness to a hit-and-run accident told the police that the plat number contained the letters PDW
followed by 3 digits, the first of which is 5. If the witness cannot recall the last 2 digits, but is certain that
all 3 digits are different, find the maximum number of automobile registrations that the police may have to
check.
Solution

PDW 5

of permutations = 1  9  8 = 72 ways

Example
In how many ways can 4 girls and 5 boys sit in a row if the boys and girls must sit alternate to each other?
Solution
B B B B B

The number of permutations = 5!  4! = 2880 ways

ACTIVITY (NO ANSWERS)

1. Using all digits from 0 to 9, how many 5 digit numbers can be formed? Repetition is allowed.
2. How many 6 digit numbers can be formed using 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 such that all odd positions (from left
end) are odd digits and all even positions are even digits? Repetition of digits is not allowed.
3. Using digits 0, 1, 2, 3 how many natural numbers can be formed such that no digit is repeated in the
number?
4. How many 6 digit numbers can be formed using the digits 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (repetitions allowed) such that
the number reads the same from left to right or from right to left (e.g. 134431)?
5. How many 4 digit numbers can be formed using the digits 1, 2, 3, 4 such that at least one digit is
repeated?

37 thmusondela
6. Using digits 0, 1, 2, 3 how many four digit numbers divisible by 4 can be formed? Repetition of digits is
allowed.
7. Using 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 (without repetition), how many four digit even numbers can be formed?
8. Using 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, without repetition, how many four digit numbers can be formed such that the digits
of the number, from left to right, are in ascending order?
9. How many four digit numbers can be formed that have the digit 5 used exactly once in them?
10. What is the sum of all the four digit numbers that are formed using each of the digits 1, 2, 3 and 4 exactly
once?
11. How many three digit numbers greater than 600 can be formed using the digits1,2,5,6,8 without
repeating the digits?
12. Calculate the number of different 6-digit numbers which can be formed using the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
without repetition and assuming that a number cannot begin with 0.
13. A 4-digit number is formed by using four of the seven digits 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. No digit can be used
more than once in any one number. Find how many different 4-digit numbers can be formed if
(i) there are no restrictions, (ii) the number is even.

14. A 4-digit number is formed by using four of the seven digits 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9. No digit can be used
more than once in any one number. Find how many different 4-digit numbers can be formed if
(i) there are no restrictions, (ii) the number is less than 4000, (iii) the number is even and less than 4000.
15. Use the digits 5, 6, 7, and 8.
(a) How many 4-digit numbers can be formed when repetition is allowed?
(b) How many 4-digit numbers can be formed when repetition is not allowed?

16 . Find the total number of different permutations of all the letters of the word PELUANG.
Find the number of these permutations in which
(a). the letters of A and N are together
(b). the letters of A and N are not together

17. 4 boys and 5 girls are to form a line. In how many ways can this line be done? Find also, the number of
permutations in which
(a). the first two are girls,
(b). the first is a boy and the last is a girl,

38 thmusondela
(c). the boys are together,
(d). no two girls stand next to each other

18. Using digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (without repetition), find the number of distinct 4 digit numbers that
can be formed for each of the following conditions:
(a) greater than 3000 [600]
(b) even [360]
(c) even number greater than 3000. [260]

11 (a) Five different books are to be arranged on a shelf. There are 2 Mathematics books and 3 History
books. Find the number of different arrangements of books if
(i) the Mathematics books are next to each other,
(ii) the Mathematics books are not next to each other.

ARRANGING PEOPLE IN A ROW (WITH or WITHOUT CONDITION)

As stated already arranging people in a row is also very much like forming numbers because for Maths it
hardly makes any difference if you are placing digits in places or persons in positions. The only difference
being that instead of conditions like number being even or divisible by 3, we could have different conditions
like two or more people wanting to be together or not wanting to be together or being in alternate position.
Example-50:
In how many ways can 3 boys and 5 girls be arranged in a row so that all the 3 boys are together?
Solution:
The 3 boys will always be kept together, so we count the 3 boys as one boy. As a result the number
of persons involved to be arranged in a row is 6.
They can be arranged in 6! ways = (6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1) = 720 ways. But these 3 boys themselves can
be arranged in 3! Ways, i.e. (3 × 2 × 1) = 6 ways.
Hence the required number of arrangement in which the boys are together will be,
= (720 × 6) = 4320 ways.
Example-7:
Six papers are set in an examination of which two are mathematical. In how many different orders can the
papers be arranged so that

39 thmusondela
(i) the two mathematical papers are together;
(ii) the two mathematical papers are not consecutive.
Solution:
(i) We count the two mathematical papers as one, so that the total number of arrangement can be
done in 5! Ways, i.e., in (5 × 4 × 3 × 2 ×1) = 120 ways.
Two mathematical papers can be arranged within themselves in 2! = (2 ×1) = 2 ways.
Hence the required number of arrangement in which the mathematical papers are always together is
= (120 × 2) = 240.
(ii) Again the total number of possible arrangements is 6! = (6×5×4×3×2×1) = 720 ways.
Hence the total number of arrangements in which mathematical papers are not consecutive is = (720
– 240) = 480 ways.

EXAMPLE51 :
In how many ways can 6 people be arranged in a row when two of them are adamant about standing
at either extreme position?
Solution
As learnt earlier, we should satisfy the given conditions first. The two people, say A and B, can be
placed at the extreme ends in two ways viz. A at the left end and B at right or A at the right end and
B at left (the right end is different from the left end). Now we are left with 4 people and 4 places,
which can be arranged in 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24 ways. Thus the total number of ways of arranging is 2 × 24
= 48 ways.
EXAMPLE: In how many ways can 6 people be arranged in a row when two of them are adamant
about standing at either extreme position and another two persons are adamant about standing in the
middle?
Solution
The two persons who want to be at the extremes can be placed in 2 ways. Similarly the persons who
want to be in the middle (i.e. the 3rd and 4th place) can be placed in 2 ways. We are left with 2
people and 2 places which can be filled in 2 ways. Thus in all, the total number of ways of arranging
with the given condition is 2 × 2 × 2 = 8 ways.

Example 52:
In how many ways can 5 children be arranged in a line such that

40 thmusondela
 (i) two particular children of them are always together
(ii) two particular children of them are never together.
Solution
(i) We consider the arrangements by taking 2 particular children together as one and hence the
remaining 4 can be arranged in 4! = 24 ways. Again two particular children taken together can be
arranged in two ways. Therefore, there are
24 × 2 = 48 total ways of arrangement.
(ii) Among the 5! = 120 permutations of 5 children, there are 48 in which two children are together.
In the remaining 120 – 48 = 72 permutations, two particular children are never together.
CONDITION FOR PERSONS TO BE TOGETHER:
Let us understand this with an example:
Example 53:
There are 7 people who have to be arranged in a row. If three of them want to be together, in how
many ways can the arrangement be done?
Solution
Since the three persons cannot be separated, consider them as a one (imagine tying all three with
a rope and consider this group as one person when placing them in the row). Now we have to
arrange 4 + 1 i.e. 5 persons in a row which can be done in 5P5 = 5! = 120 ways. But for each of these 120
ways, the three persons which are considered as one can be further arranged among themselves, giving rise
to different arrangements. The three persons can arrange themselves in 3! = 6 ways. Thus for each of
the 120 arrangements, there are further 6 different arrangements and the total number of arrangement will
be 120 × 6 = 720. If it is not understood why we are multiplying see the figure given below (where the
three persons insisting on being together are P5, P6 and P7)
Approach for “have to be together”
The way to proceed is to consider all those who have to be together as one object and go ahead with the
overall arrangement (arranging this one object and the others who are not particular about their position).
Now for each of these arrangements, further arrange those who insist on being together among themselves

Example-59:
In how many ways can 3 boys and 5 girls be arranged in a row so that all the 3 boys are together?
Solution:
The 3 boys will always be kept together, so we count the 3 boys as one boy. As a result the number
of persons involved to be arranged in a row is 6.
41 thmusondela
 They can be arranged in 6! ways = (6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1) = 720 ways.
But these 3 boys themselves can be arranged in 3! ways, i.e. (3 × 2 × 1) = 6 ways.
Hence the required number of arrangement in which the boys are together will be,
= (720 × 6) = 4320 ways.

Example-60:
Six papers are set in an examination of which two are mathematical. In how many different orders can the
papers be arranged so that
(i) the two mathematical papers are together;
(ii) the two mathematical papers are not consecutive.
Solution:
(i) We count the two mathematical papers as one, so that the total number of arrangement can be
done in 5! ways, i.e., in (5 × 4 × 3 × 2 ×1) = 120 ways.
Two mathematical papers can be arranged within themselves in 2! = (2 ×1) = 2 ways.
Hence the required number of arrangement in which the mathematical papers are always together is
= (120 × 2) = 240.
(ii) Again the total number of possible arrangements is 6! =(6×5×4×3×2×1) = 720 ways.
Hence the total number of arrangements in which mathematical papers are not consecutive is = (720
– 240) = 480 ways.
Example 61 :
In a group of 10 people, 4 speak on French, 3 speak only Spanish and the rest speak both French and
Spanish. In how many ways can the 10 people be arranged in a row such that all those who speak only
French are together and so are all those who speak only Spanish.
Solution
Considering the 4 who speak only French as 1 unit and the 3 who speak only Spanish also as 1 unit,
we have to arrange 1 + 1 + 3 (rest) = 5 objects in a row. This can be done in 5! Ways. Now for each of
the above 5! arrangement, the four French speaking persons can be arranged among themselves in 4!
ways. Thus, the total number of ways in which the 10 people can be arranged considering the 3 who
speak only Spanish as 1 unit is 5! × 4!. Again for each of above 5! × 4! arrangements, the three Spanish
speaking persons can be arranged among themselves in 3! ways. Thus the answer would be 5! × 4! ×
3!= 17280

42 thmusondela
CONDITIONS FOR PERSONS NOT BEING TOGETHER
We shall look for two particular cases here
 ALL PARTICULAR ARE NOT TOGETHER V/S
 NO TWO PARTICULAR ARE TOGETHER
Example 62 :
There are 6 boys and 4 girls to be arranged in a row. If not all the girls should stand together, in how many
ways can the arrangement be done?
Solution
 Finding the number of ways in which all the four girls are together ……
Considering the 4 girls as one unit, the 6 boys and this one unit can be arranged in 7! Ways.
 For each of these ways, the unit of 4 girls can be arranged among themselves in 4! Ways. Thus total
number of arrangements where all 4 girls are together is 7! × 4!
 Next the total number of arrangements of the 6 boys and 4 girls with no condition is 10!. Since we
need ‘no two girls together’, the answer would be subtracting all the possible ways where girls are
together from the total possible ways i.e. 10! – 7! × 4!= 𝟑𝟓𝟎𝟕𝟖𝟒𝟎
NO TWO UNITS SHOULD BE TOGETHER
Example 63 :
There are 6 boys and 4 girls to be arranged in a row. If no two girls should stand together, in how many
ways can the arrangement be done?
Solution
A beginner’s error is to solve the above question in the following manner:
 Finding the number of ways in which all the four girls are together ……
Considering the 4 girls as one unit, the 6 boys and this one unit can be arranged in 7! Ways.
 For each of these ways, the unit of 4 girls can be arranged among themselves in 4! Ways. Thus total
number of arrangements where all 4 girls are together is 7! × 4!
 Next the total number of arrangements of the 6 boys and 4 girls with no condition is 10!. Since we
need ‘no two girls together’, the answer would be subtracting all the possible ways where girls are
together from the total possible ways i.e. 10! – 7! × 4!= 3507840
This is incorrect.
 We have subtracted all cases where ‘all four girls are together’. Thus the answer found is for the
number of ways where ‘all four girls are not together’. This is different from ‘no two girls are
together’.

43 thmusondela
  After the subtraction we will still be left with cases where two girls may be together or three girls
may be together. E.g. the arrangement B1 B2 G1 G2 B3 B4 G3 B5 G4 B6 would still be counted in the
above answer, whereas it should not be counted in the correct answer.
NOTE: The above approach of subtracting the cases when they are together can be used ONLY when the
number of objects that do not have to be together is exactly 2. In that case if we subtract all the cases where
the two of them are together from the total possible ways of arranging, we would get all the cases where the
two of them are not together.

Example 64:
There are 6 boys and 4 girls to be arranged in a row. If no two girls should stand together, in how many
ways can the arrangement be done?
Correct solution
In questions where no two units should be together, we should first arrange the other units and then place
the units that should not be together, one each in the spaces between the other units arranged.
Since no two girls should be together, arrange the others, 6 boys in this case, first. The six boys can be
arranged in 6! ways. Now there are seven places created between the boys and at either end, as shown
below for two random cases of arranging the boys:
__ B1 __ B2 __ B3 __ B4 __ B5 __ B6 __
For each of these 6! Ways. If not more than one girl is placed in each of the 7 spaces, it will ensure that no
two girls will be together. But we have 7 spaces and only 5 girls. It just means that two of the spaces will be
vacant. An empty space would mean the boys will be adjacent, which is acceptable because nothing is
mentioned about boys being or not being together.
Thus, 5 girls are to be placed and there are 7 available spaces. This can be done in 7P5 = 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 ways.
Alternately using rule of AND, the first girl can be placed in 7 ways, second girl can be placed in 6 ways,
third girl can be placed in 5 ways and fourth girl in four ways. Thus, the total number of ways of arranging
is 6! × (7 × 6 × 5 × 4)= 604800

This is same as 6! × (7C4 × 4!)

=6! × 7P4
= 6! × (7 × 6 × 5 × 4)

= 604800

44 thmusondela
Example 65:
In how many ways can 7 girls and 3 boys line up so that no two boys are together.
Solution
Start by lining up the 7 girls. Can be done in 7! Ways. …G…G…G…G…G….G…G…….
There are 8 spaces in between and at the ends. To keep the boys apart put the 3 boys in 3 of the 8
spaces. This can be done in 8…7…6 ways (each boy is a slot) or alternatively in (8𝐶3 × 3!) ways
(choose 3 spaces and then match them with the 3 boys). Answer is 7!…8…7…6 or equivalently
7! (8𝐶3 ) × 3! = 7! × 8𝑃3 = 𝟏𝟔𝟗𝟑𝟒𝟒𝟎
To keep enemies apart, first line up the others and then select between/end places for the enemies.
NB (𝑛𝐶𝑟 ) × 𝑟! = 𝑛𝑃𝑟

Example 66
In how many ways can 5 girls and 3 boys be seated in a row so that no two boys are together?
Solution
Let us first seat the 5 girls. This can be done in 5! ways. For each such arrangement, the three boys
can be seated only at the cross marked places. × G × G × G × G × G ×.
There are 6 cross marked places and the three boys can be seated in 6P3 ways.
Hence, by multiplication principle, the total number of ways
6!
= 5! × 6𝑃3 = 5! × 3! = 4 × 5 × 2 × 3 × 4 × 5 × 6 = 14400.

Example 67
Find the number of ways in which 9 boys and 3 girls can be seated in a row so that no two girls are
together.
Solution:
The 9 boys may occupy 9places in P (9, 9) = 9! = 362880 ways. Since no two girls are to sit together,
we may arrange the three girls at the 6 places as shown (by dots) below . ....B .... B.... B ....B
.....B ....B .... B.... B ....B .....
Total number of arrangements for 3 girls = P (9, 3)
Total arrangements of boys and girls = 362880 × 504 = 182891520

Example 68 :

45 thmusondela
There are 4 boys and 4 girls to be arranged in a row. If no two girls should stand together, in how many
ways can the arrangement be done?
Solution:
Approach for “no two should be together” Ignoring all the objects of which no two should be together,
arrange the rest of the objects first. Now place the objects of which no two should be together in the gaps
between any two objects in the earlier arrangements of the rest of the objects. The four boys can first be
arranged in 4! ways. Now there will be 5 places for the 4 girls and they could be arranged in 5 × 4 × 3 × 2
ways. Thus the total number of arrangements possible is 4! × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2.

Example 69
Arrange 6 boys and 3 girls in a straight line so that the girls are separated. In how many ways can this be
done ?
Solution
Consider this arrangement:  B  B  B  B  B  B 
Let the 6 B’s represent the 6 boys and the ‘  ’ represent the spaces for the girls.
Number of arrangements for the boys = 6!
Number of arrangements for the girls = 7 P3 (7 spaces available for the 3 girls)= 210
Total number of arrangements of 6 boys and 3 girls where the girls are separated
= 6!  210 = 151200

Example 70

Find the number of ways in which 5 boys and 3 girls can be seated in a row so that no two girls are
together.
Solution :
The 5 boys may occupy 5 places in P (5, 5) = 5! = 120 ways. Since no two girls are to sit together, we may
arrange the three girls at the 6 places as shown (by dots) below. ....B .... B.... B ....B .....B ....
Total number of arrangements for 3 girls
= P (6, 3)
= 6 ×5 ×4 = 120
∴ Total arrangements of boys and girls = 120 ×120 = 14400
[Note: this problem can also be solved by the method used in example1, second part]

46 thmusondela
 ACTIVITY

1. In how many ways can 7 girls and 3 boys line up so

(a) that not all the boys boys are together. [𝟑𝟓𝟗𝟖𝟓𝟔𝟎]
(b) that no two boys are together. [𝟏𝟔𝟗𝟑𝟒𝟒𝟎]
2. In how many ways can 5 boys and 3 girls stand in a straight line, if
(a) there are no restrictions [𝟒𝟎𝟑𝟐𝟎] (b) the
boys stand next to each other [𝟐𝟖𝟖𝟎]
(c) that no two girls boys are together. [𝟏𝟒𝟒𝟎𝟎]
3. Six boys and five girls are to be seated for a photograph in a row Find the number of ways
(a) in which no two girls sit together and no two boys sit together. [86,400] (b)
) in which all the girls sit together [𝟔𝟎𝟒𝟖𝟎𝟎]
4. A family of 4 brothers and 3 sisters is to be arranged for a photograph in one row.
In how many ways can they be seated if
(i) all the sisters sit together, [720]
(ii) no two sisters sit together? [1440]

Example 71 :
Three adults and five children are seated randomly in a row.
(a) In how many ways can this be done?
(b) In how many ways can this be done if the three adults are seated together?
(c) In how many ways can this be done if the three adults are seated together and the five children are also
seated together.
Answers:
(a) There are 8! ways of arranging 8 people in a row.
(b) There are 3! ways of arranging the adults. We now need to arrange 6 objects
(1 group of adults and 5 individual children) in a row. Therefore the answer is 3! × 6! ways.
(c) There are 3! ways of arranging the adults, 5! ways of arranging the children, and 2! ways of
arranging the 2 groups. So the answer is 3! × 5! × 2!.

Example 72

47 thmusondela
There are 10 students out of whom six are females. How many possible arrangements are there if
(a) they are arranged in a row?
(b) males always sit on one side and female on the other side?
Solution
(a) The number of permutations = 10! = 3628800
(b) The number of permutations = 2!  6!  4! = 34560

CONDITIONS FOR PERSONS TO BE ALTERNATE

Example 73 :
There are 4 boys and 4 girls to be arranged in a row. If girls and boys have to be alternate, in how many
ways can the arrangement be done?
Solution
Common confusion: One of the common confusion among students is: how is this case different from
where no two girls were together?
 In the case where no two girls are together, nothing is mentioned about the boys and the boys could
be together e.g. the arrangement G1 B1 G2 B2 B3 G3 B4 G4 is acceptable because no two girls are
together. But this arrangement will not be acceptable if boys and girls have to be alternate. Boys and
girls being alternate automatically means no two girls are together. But the reverse is not true i.e. no
two girls are together does not mean boys and girls have to be alternate. They may be and it’s also
possible they may not be.
 Thus, girls and boys being alternate is a subset of no two girls being together. When girls and boys
have to be alternate, it would just be either G B G B G B G B or B G B G B G B G. In each of these
ways, there are 4 places for the boys and 4 places for the girls and thus they can be arranged in
4! × 4! in each of these. Thus, the total number of arrangements possible is 2 × 4! × 4! =1152
Number of boys and girls matter
If there are 5 girls and 4 boys, the only way they can be alternate is G B G B G B G B G. There is no other
way.
Also in this case the two cases, “girls and boys being alternate” and “no two girls being together”,
which are liable to be confused as explained earlier, are exactly the same. (However “no two boys

48 thmusondela
 are together” is distinct from the above case, it will include many more arrangements in addition to
the above arrangement)
If there are 6 girls and 4 boys, it is just not possible to arrange them such that girls and boys are
alternate. Nor is it possible to arrange them such that no two girls are together. (It is possible to
arrange them such that no two boys are together)

5. Five boys and five girls form a line. Find the number of ways of making the seating arrangement under
the following condition:
(a) Boys and girls alternate: (i) 5! × 6!
(b) No two girls sit together : (ii) 10 ! – 5 ! 6 !
(c) All the girls sit together (iii) (5!)2 + (5!

MORE EXAMPLES
Example 74
Four sisters and two brothers are arranged in different ways in a straight line for several photographs to
be taken. How many different arrangements are possible if
(a) there are no restrictions
(b) the two brothers must be separated
Solution
(a) Number of arrangements of 6 people = 6! = 720
(b) First, find the numbers of arrangements with the two brothers standing next to each other. In
these arrangements, the two brothers move together as one unit and this is equivalent to the
arrangement of 5 objects except that they are able to switch positions with each other.
Number of arrangements with two brothers next to each other = 5!  2! = 120  2 = 240
Number of arrangements with the two brothers separated = 720 – 240= 480
Example 75 :
Find the number of arrangements of the letters of the word INDEPENDENCE. In how many of these
arrangements,
(i) do the words start with P
(ii) do all the vowels always occur together
(iii) do the vowels never occur together
(iv) do the words begin with I and end in P?
Solution
49 thmusondela
 There are 12 letters, of which N appears 3 times, E appears 4 times and D appears 2 times and the
rest are all different. Therefore The required number of arrangements
12!
=1663200
4!3!2!

(i) Let us fix P at the extreme left position, we, then, count the arrangements of the remaining 11
letters. Therefore, the required number of words starting with P are
𝟏𝟏!
= 138600
𝟒!𝟑!𝟐!

(ii) There are 5 vowels in the given word, which are 4 Es and 1 I. Since, they have to always occur
together, we treat them as a single object (EEEEI) for the time being. This single object together
with 7 remaining objects will account for 8 objects. These 8 objects, in which there are 3Ns and 2
8!
Ds, can be rearranged in 3! 2! ways. Corresponding to each of these arrangements, the 5 vowels E, E,
5!
E,E and I can be rearranged in 4! ways. Therefore, by multiplication principle the required number
8! 5!
of arrangements = 3! 2! × 4! = 16800
(iii) The required number of arrangements
= the total number of arrangements (without any restriction) – the number of arrangements where all the
vowels occur together. = 1663200 – 16800 = 1646400

(iv) Let us fix I and P at the extreme ends (I at the left end and P at the right end).We are left with
10!
10 letters. Hence, the required number of arrangements = 3!2! 4! = 12600

Example 76
Find the number of different 8-letter arrangements that can be made from the letters of the word
DAUGHTER so that
(i) all vowels occur together
(ii) all vowels do not occur together.
Solution
(i) 6 ! × 3 ! = 4320.
Explanation: There are 8 different letters in the word DAUGHTER, in which there are 3 vowels,
namely, A, U and E. Since the vowels have to occur together, we can for the time being, assume them
as a single object (AUE). This single object together with 5 remaining letters (objects) will be
counted as 6 objects. Then we count permutations of these 6 objects taken all at a time. This
number would be 6P6 = 6!. Corresponding to each of these permutations, we shall have 3!
50 thmusondela
 Permutations of the three vowels A, U, E taken all at a time. Hence, by the multiplication principle
the required number of permutations = 6 ! × 3 ! = 4320.
(ii) 8 ! – (6 ! × 3 !) = 36000
Explanation: If we have to count those permutations in which all vowels are never together, we
first have to find all possible arrangements of 8 letters taken all at a time, which can be done in 8!
ways. Then, we have to subtract from this number, the number of permutations in which the vowels
are always together. Therefore, the required number 8 ! – (6 ! × 3 !) = 36000

Example 77
(a) Find how many arrangements can be made with the letters of the word MATHEMATICS?
(b) ) Find how many arrangements can be made with the letters of the word MATHEMATICS in which
the vowels are together?
Solution:

𝟏𝟏!
(a) 𝟐!𝟐!𝟐! = 4989600

Explanation: There are 11 letters in the word 'MATHEMATICS', out of these letters M occurs
twice, A occurs twice, T occurs twice and the rest are all different. Required number of
𝟏𝟏!
arrangements is = 𝟐!𝟐!𝟐! = 4989600

𝟖! 𝟒!
(b) 𝟐!𝟐! × 𝟐! = 𝟏𝟐𝟎𝟗𝟔𝟎

Explanation: The given word contains 4 vowels A, E, A, I. Treating these 4 vowels as one object, we
have to arrange 8 letters, out of which M occurs twice, T occurs twice and the rest are all different.
𝟖!
The number of arrangements = 𝟐!𝟐! = 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟖𝟎. Again, the four vowels in which A occurs twice and
4!
the rest are all different, can be arranged amongst themselves in2! = 12 ways. Total number of

arrangements in which vowels are together r= 10080 ×12 = 120960

Example 79
(a) How many permutations are there of the word APPLETREE.
(b) In how many of those permutations are the 3 E's together.
(c) In how many of those permutations are the letters A, L, R together.
Solution:
9!
(a) 2!3! = 30240

51 thmusondela
 9!
Explanation: The 9 letter word APPLETREE contains 2 P's, 3 E's, A,L,R,T. Answer is 2!3! = 30240
7!
(b) 2! = 2520
Explanation: Imagine that you have 7 objects, namely 2 P's, A,L,R,T and a clump of E's. By (1) they can be
7!
permuted in ways
2!

Solution: Imagine that you have 7 objects, namely 2 P's, 3 E's, T and an ALR clump.By (1) they can be
7! 7!
permuted in 2!3! ways. And then the ALR clump can be rearranged in 3! ways. Answer is2!3! × 3!

Example 80
2. In how many ways can the complete works of Shakespeare in 10 volumes and 6 copies of Tom Sawyer be
arranged on a shelf?
Solution
16!
Answer is = 29059430400
6!

Explanation: This is a permutation of 16 objects, 6 of which are identical.

Example 80

Six people (A,B,C,D,E,F) are to line up. Two of the people (A,B) must be next to each other. How many
arrangements can be made?

Answer: 𝟓! × 𝟐! = 𝟐𝟒𝟎
Explanation: Think of the two people as one letter, so arrangements can be: (AB),C,D,E,F C,AB,D,E,F etc. 5! = 120
but for every arrangement you can reverse A and B, BA,C,D,E,F C,BA,D,E,F etc. 5!x2! = 240

Example 81
Eight athletes are to be lined up for a race. 2 of athletes are from Zambia, and one each from Angola,
Botswana, Cameroon, DR Congo, Egypt and Ghana.

(a) The two Zambian athletes are not allowed to be next to each other. How many ways can the athletes
line up?

(b) The two Zambian athletes are not allowed to be next to each other, neither are the Ghanian or
Congolese athletes allowed to be next to each other. How many ways can the athletes line up.

solutions

52 thmusondela
(a) Answer: 40320-10080=30240
Explanation: (a) Without a restriction we have 8!=40320. With restrictions we have 7! × 2
=10080 Take away the restrictions: 40320-10080=30240

(b) Answer: 23040

Explanation: 8! – (7! × 2) – (7! × 2) + (6! × 2 × 2) = 20160 + (6! × 2 × 2) = 23040

Example 82
3 boys and 3 girls are to sit sit in a row. In how many ways

(a) can 3 boys and 3 girls sit in a row?

(b) can 3 boys and 3 girls sit in a row if the boys and girls are each to sit together?

(c) if only the boys must sit together?

(d) if no two people of the same sex are allowed to sit together?

Solution

(a) There are 6! = 720 ways 6 people can sit in a row.

(b) We can have either BBBGGG or GGGBBB, so disregarding the order within boys and within
girls, there are 2 possibilities. There are 3! Ways to order the boys, and 3! Ways to order the girls, so
all together there are (2)(3!)(3!) = 72 ways to do this.

(c) If the boys are regards as a unit, then we can first order the objects {B,G1,G2,G3}, where B is the
unit of the three boys, and G1,G2,G3 are the girls. There are 4! Ways to do this. Then the boys can be
ordered in 3! ways. Thus the answer is 4!3! = 144.

(d) We can have either BGBGBG or GBGBGB. For each such arrangement, there are 3! ways to
arrange the boys, and 3! ways to arrange the girls, so the answer is (2)(3!)(3!) = 72.

Pupil’s activity

In how many ways can 5 girls and 4 boys line up so that no two boys are together [43200]

Example 83
In how many different ways can the letters of the word SINISTER be arranged such that two S are
never together?
Solution:

53 thmusondela
SINISTER is an 8-letter word with S and I repeated two times. We want the cases in which two S are never
together and how can we do that??
We can solve the question in two ways:
•By adding all the cases when two S are separated has at least 1 letter between them.
Ways when (Two S separated by 1 letter + Two S separated by 2 letters + ….. + Two S separated by 6
letters)
•By removing all the cases in which Two S are together from the total cases.
Total cases -Number of cases in which both the S are together.
It is very clear that 2nd method is easy. Thus, we only need to find: Total cases in which SINISTER
can be arranged and, Number of cases in which both the S are together. Thus, total cases in which
two S are never together = 10080 –2520 = 7560 ways.

Example 84
In how many ways can 10 people be seated on a bench if only 4 seats are available?
Solution
The first seat can be filled in any one of 10 ways, and when this has been done, there are 9 ways of
filling the second seat, 8 ways of filling the third seat, and 7 ways of filling the fourth seat. Therefore:
Number of arrangements of 10 people taken 4 at a time =10×9×8×7=5040
Example 85
Three married couples have bought 6 seats in the same row for a concert. In how many different ways can
they be seated
(a) with no restrictions
(b) if each couple is to sit together
(c) if all the men sit together to the right of all the women
Solution
(a) H1 W1 H2 W2 H3 W3 a)

The number of permutations = 6! = 720

(b)

H1 W1 H2 W2 H3 W3

The number of permutations = 3!  2!  2!  2! = 48 ways

(c)
W1 W2 W3 H1H2H3
The number of permutations = 1  3!  3! = 36 ways.

54 thmusondela
Example 86
How many words can be formed from the letters of the word 'SECONDARY' so that
(i) the vowels always come together,
(ii) the vowels are never together.
Solution:
(i) When the vowels E, O, A are always together, their group can be treated as one object.
Then the objects to be arranged are S, C, N, D, R, Y, (AOE). These 7 objects can be arranged in P
(7,7) = 7! = 5040 ways.
But, corresponding to each of these arrangements, the vowels A, O, E can be arranged amongst
themselves in P (3,3) = 3! = 6 ways.
∴Required number of ways = 5040 ×6 = 30240
(ii) Total number of words = P (9, 9) = 362880
The number of words in which vowels are never together
= Total arrangements - vowels are together
= 362880 - 30240 = 332640

ACTIVITY

1. Ten books are to be lined up on the shelf

(a) How many ways can the books be lined up.

(b) If 5 of the books are identical math books and 2 are identical Science books and 3 are identical English
books, how many ways can they be lined up?

a) Without a repetition: [36288000 ]

b) With repetition: permutation of identical books is nothing new [2520 ]

2. There are 10 seats in a row in a waiting room. There are six people in the room.

(a) In how many different ways can they be seated? [151200]

(b) In the group of six people, there are three sisters who must sit next to each other.

In how many different ways can the group be seated? [8 x 3! x 7 x 6 x 5 = 10 080]

55 thmusondela
3. A license plate consists of two letters of the alphabet followed by three decimal digits. How many
different license plates are possible? 26 x 26 x 10 x 10 x 10

4. How many four-digit numbers are there which contain at least one digit 3?
SOLUTION
The total number of four-digit numbers [ 9 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 9000. ]
The number of four-digit numbers which do not contain a digit 3 [ 8 x 9 x 9 x 9 = 5832.]
Thus, the number of four-digit numbers which contain at least one digit 3 is 9000 – 5832 = 3168.

5. Consider the word SOCIOLOGICAL

(a) How many arrangements are there for all the letters in SOCIOLOGICAL? [9979200]
(b) In how many of those arrangements are A and G adjacent? [1663200]
(c) In how many of the arrangements are all the vowels adjacent? [75600]
6. How unique 4 letter “words” can be made from: COCA-COLA [70]

7. Six people (A,B,C,D,E,F) are to line up. Three of the people (A,B,C) must be next to each other. How
many arrangements can be made? 144

(8) Three married couples have bought six seats in a row for a performance of a musical comedy.
(a) In how many ways can they be seated? 6!= 720
(b) In how many ways can they be seated if each couple is to sit together with the husband to the left of his
wife? 3!= 6
(c) In how many ways can they be seated if each couple is to sit together? 3!×2!×2!×2!= 48
(d) In how many ways can they be seated if all the men are to sit together and all the women are to sit
together? 2!×3!×3!= 72

ACTIVITY

1. (a) How many ways can 6 math books and 4 science books be arranged on a shelf?
(b) What if the math books must be together and the science books must be together?
2. How many ways can you select a president, vice-president, and secretary from a committee of 25
members?
3. You have seven pictures and you wish to hang five on the wall in a row. How many ways can you
arrange them?

56 thmusondela
4. In how many ways can you arrange two different math books, three different English books and four
different history books on a shelf if books of the same subject must be kept together?
5. In how many ways can Al, Bob, Carl, Ed, Fern, and Don be seared in a row of six seats if Al and Bob want
to sit side by side?
6. How many ways can four different letters be dropped into eight mailboxes if no two letters can go into
the same mailbox?
7. In how many ways can five students be seated in a row of five chairs if Jack insists on sitting in the first
chair?

1. a) 3,628,800 b) 34,560 2. p(25,3) = 13,800 3. p(7,5) = 2,520

4. Decide how to order the subjects: p(3,3) = 3! = 6 ways and then arrange each subject individually:
2!·3!·4! = 288 use fundamental counting principle: 6·288 = 1728 ways
5. Decide who is first al or bob; c(2,1) = 2; place al and bob as a pair in one of the five slots (because
their slot is actually two seats) and the other 4 slots are filled in with the others: p(5,5)=120. 2 *120 =
240
6. p (8,4) = 1680
7. Put jack in first chair: 1 way and then seat other four: p(4,4) = 24 ways

(9) In how many ways can 8 people A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H be seated in a row if

(a) there are no restrictions on seating arrangement; 8!= 40320
(b) persons A and B must not sit next to each other; 8!−7!2!= 30240
Test your self

1. At Angelo’s pizza place you can choose from 6 different types of pasta and 28 different sauces. How many
different meals of 1 type of pasta and 1 type of sauce can you have?
2. In how many different ways can we arrange 7 books on a shelf ?
3. In how many different ways can 9 girls sit on one side of a table?
4. In how many ways can a three-letter word be made from theletters c; d; e; f without repeating any
letters?
5. How many possible choices can be made in a multiple choice quiz if there are 4 questions each with 3
answers?
6. How many different words can be made using the letters from LIMPOPO?
7. How many 3-digit numbers can be made with the digits 1 – 5 if:
a) repetitions are allowed
b) repetitions are not allowed

57 thmusondela
8. A code is made using the format XYY, where the X is any letter in the alphabet and Y represents any digit
from 0 to 9.
(a) How many possible codes can be formed if the letters and digits are repeated? (3)
(b) How many possible codes can be formed if the letters and digits are not repeated? (3)

RECAP: COUNTING METHODS

Here’s a summary of the four counting methods we’ve studied so far, along with some advice about which
method to use when solving a counting problem.
 Multiplication Principle: When you have two or more decisions to make, the total number of possible
ways of choosing is found by multiplying the numbers of options for each choice.
 Factorial (number of ways to put in order): If you have n objects that need to be arranged in an order,
the number of possible orders is “n factorial,” abbreviated n! .

 You can find n! by multiplying all the whole numbers from n down to 1.
 You can find factorials on your calculator

 Permutations (number of ways to select with an order): If you are asked to count the number of
ways that k out of n objects can be selected with an order, the number of ways is “n permutation k,”
abbreviated nPk .

 You can find nPk by multiplying k whole numbers starting from n and counting downward.
 You can find permutation numbers on your calculator

COMBINATION
In many contexts a group of objects is being selected, but the order of selection is immaterial. For
instance, suppose you are joining a tape club, and part of the incentive to join is that you get to select 4
tapes for only K25.00. If there are 20 tapes to choose from, then that means your selection can consist of
any 4 of the 20 tapes being offered. In this case the only thing that is important to you is which 4 tapes
you select, and there is no reason to think of the 4 tapes selected as forming any kind of ordered arrangement.
The word combination means selection.
ILLUSTRATION
Suppose we are asked to make a selection of any two things from three things a, b and c, the different
selections are ab, bc, ac. Here there is no reference to the order in which they are selected. i.e. ab and ba
denote the same selection. These selections are called combinations.

58 thmusondela
Consider the difference between selecting a four-member committee and selecting four officers—a
president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. Selecting officers involves permutations. The
following two sets of officers are different even though the same people are included:
Smith: president Brown: president
Cooper: vice-president Cooper: vice-president
Martin: secretary Martin: secretary
Brown: treasurer Smith: treasurer
However, selecting a four-member committee does not involve permutations since order among the
committee members is NOT important (the above two sets are the same!). Such sets are called
combinations.
1. The Debate Club wants to elect four officers (Pres, VP, Sec, and Treas), from its membership of 30
people. How many different ways could the Debate Club elect its officers?
2. The Debate Club wants to create a 4-person committee (i.e., no officers) from its membership of 30
people. How many different committees are possible?

Combination
An arrangement of r objects, WITHOUT regard to ORDER and without repetition, selected from n
distinct objects is called a combination of n objects taken r at a time. Since the order does not matter
in combinations, there are fewer combinations than permutations. The combinations are a "subset"
of the permutations.
Thus, 𝑛𝑃𝑟 = 𝑛𝐶𝑟 × 𝑟!
𝑛! 𝑛! 𝑛!
We already know that 𝑛𝑃𝑟 = and thus,𝑛𝐶𝑟 × 𝑟! = ⟹ 𝑛𝐶𝑟 =
(𝑛−𝑟)! (𝑛−𝑟)! 𝑟!(𝑛 – 𝑟)!

Obviously this is just the formula of nCr, but when we are finding the value of nCr, we would
𝑛!
do the following calculation 𝐶(𝑛, 𝑟) = 𝑟!(𝑛 – 𝑟)!

You can calculate combinations on your calculator:

First enter the value of n. then press shift, and then select the 𝑛𝑐𝑟 symbol. Last enter the value of x (which
the calculator calls r) and press enter.

Example 87
Jerry has seven compact discs that Michelle would like to borrow for a party. He has agreed to let her take
four of them. In how many different ways could Michelle make her choice?

59 thmusondela
Solution:
This is simply a matter of choosing 4 objects from 7, so the number of possible ways of picking the
compact discs would be
7!
C(7,4) =4!3! = 35

Example 88
Michelle has 8 compact discs for her party. Before the party starts, she wants to decide which compact disc
to play first, which to play second, and which to play third. In how many ways can she make these choices?
Solution:
Do you see why this is a permutations rather than a combinations question? She is not just
choosing 3 compact discs from the 8. She is specifically choosing a first compact disc, a second
compact disc, and a third compact disc. So the correct answer is not C(8,3) but instead is P(8,3) = 8 ×
7 × 6 = 336.

Example 89
Out of 5 men and 6 women in how many ways can a committee of 2 men and 3 women be selected?
Solution
5C2 × 6C3 =200 ways.
Explanation: 2 men can be selected out of 5 men in 5C2 ways and 3 women can be selected out of
6 women in 6C3 ways.
Since we have to select 2 men and 3 women, it can be done in 5C2 × 6C3 =10 × 20 = 200 ways.

Pupil’s activity

1. Find the number of committees consisting of 4 men and 5 women that can be formed from 10 men and 13
women is
2. A committee of 4 girls and 3 boys is to be chosen from 9 girls and 7 boys. Find the number of committees
that can be formed.

COMBINATION PROBLEMS WITH: “AT LEAST, AT MOST ETC”

Example 90
: Out of 5 men and 6 women in how many ways can a committee of 5 members be selected such that at least
3 members are women?
6C3 × 5C2+6C4 × 5C1+6C5 × 5C0
Solution

60 thmusondela
 Explanation: At least 3 members are women implies that there could be 3 women or 4 women or 5
women in the committee. Thus, the required number of ways is
6C3 × 5C2+6C4 × 5C1+6C5 × 5C0= 20 × 10 + 15 × 5 + 6 = 281

Pupil’s activity

1. The student council decides to form a committee of 5 council members to look at how raised funds
should be spent on the students of the school. There are a total of 11 student council members, 5 males and 6
females. In how many different ways can a sub-committee consists of
(a) exactly three females (b) at least three females (c) at least three females [(a) 200, (b) 281, (c) 461]
2. a group of four journalists is to be chosen co cover a murder trial. There are 5 male and 7 female
journalists available. How many possible groups can be formed consisting of
(a) 2 men and 2 women (b) at least one woman [(a) 210, (b) 490]

HAND SHAKE PROBLEM

Example 91
In a room there are 10 men and each man shakes hands with every other man present. How many hand-
shakes take place?
Solution
10×9
10C2 = = 45
2!

Explanation: A hand shake happens between every pair of person. Thus the number of hand-
shakes is equal to the number of different pair of persons that can be formed from 10 people. The
10×9
number of ways of choosing 2 persons out of 10 is 10C2 = = 45. Thus 45 hand-shakes take place
2!

Example 92
Consider a group of 20 people. If everyone shakes hands with everyone else , how many handshakes take
place ?
Solution:
The question is “in how many ways can we select two people from 20 ?“ .
20! 20 20
The answer is, from the definition, 𝐶(20,2) = 18!×2! = 18! × 19 × 18!×2 = 19 × = 𝟏𝟗𝟎
2

.I denoted by C(n,k) the number of combinations of n objects taken by k .

Example 93

61 thmusondela
During tryouts at Monze swallows FC, all the players who attended the tryouts shook hands with each
other. How many players attended the tryouts if there were 300 handshakes in all ?
Solution
Explanation: A hand shake happens between every pair of person. Thus the number of hand-shakes is
equal to the number of different pair of persons that can be formed from n people. So if n is the total number
of players then nC2=300, calculating for n we get 25 players.

Pupil’s activity

After everyone had shaken hands once everyone in Mr Musondela’ house during a kitchen part, there was a
total of 66 handshakes. How many people were in Mr Musondela’ house? [12 people]

However there are a few questions where you would need to identify the application of
Selection and is not very apparent. These types of question could appear to be from any topic
like reasoning (as seen in the following example) or geometry (as seen in few questions in the
exercise)

Example 94
A class consists of 5 girls and 7 boys. A committee is to be formed consisting of 2 girls and 3 boys. In how
many can a teacher choose the committee if
(a) there is no restriction
(b) Chimuka, the head teacher’s son has to be on the committee
(a) two male twins, Banji and Pimpa cannot be both on the committee. [(a) 350, (b) 150, (c) 300]
Solution
(a) 5C2 × 7C3 =10 × 35 = 350 ways.
Explanation: 2 girls can be selected out of 5 girls in 5C2 ways and 3 boys can be selected out of 7
women in 7C3 ways. It can be done in 5C2 × 7C3 =10 × 35 = 350 ways.
(b) 1C1 × 6C2 × 5C2=150 ways.
Explanation: Chimuka being male is chosen in 1C1 and the other 2 boys can be selected out of
6 remaining boys in 6C2 ways .The2 girls can be selected out of 5 women in 5C3 ways. It can be
done in 1C1 × 6C2 × 5C2=150 ways.
(b) 1C1 × 6C2 × 5C2=150 ways.
Explanation: we may choose either Banji or Pimpa in 2C1 and the other 2 boys can be
selected out of 5 remaining boys in 5C2 ways .The 2 girls can be selected out of 5 girls in 5C2 ways.

62 thmusondela
 Since both twins cannot be on the committee we may elect not to choose any of the twins, and
chose all the 3 boys from the remaining 5 boys in 5c3 and the 2 girls can be selected out of 5 girls in
5C2. It can be done in 2C1 × 5C2 × 5C2+5C3 × 5C2 = 200+100= 300 ways.

Example 95
A group consists of 4 girls and 7 boys. In how many ways can a team of 5 members
(i) be selected if the team has no girl ?
(ii) . be selected if the team has at least one boy and one girl ?
(iii) be selected if the team has at least 3 girls ?
Solution
(i) 7C5 =21
Explanation: Since, the team will not include any girl, therefore, only boys are to be selected. 5
boys out of 7 boys can be selected in 7C5 ways. Therefore, the required number of ways = 7C5 =21
(ii) 7 + 84 + 210 + 140 = 441
Explanation: Since, at least one boy and one girl are to be there in every team.
GIRLS BOYS Therefore, the team can consist of
1 4 (a) 1 boy and 4 girls (b) 2 boys and 3 girls
(c) 3 boys and 2 girls (d) 4 boys and 1 girl.
2 3
1 boy and 4 girls can be selected in 7C1 ×4C4 ways.
3 2 2 boys and 3 girls can be selected in 7C2 ×4C3 ways.
4 1 3 boys and 2 girls can be selected in 7C3 ×4C2 ways.
4 boys and 1 girl can be selected in 7C4 ×4C1 ways.
Therefore, the required number of ways = 7𝐶1 × 4𝐶4 + 7𝐶2 × 4𝐶3 + 7𝐶3 × 4𝐶2 + 7𝐶4 × 4𝐶1
= 7 + 84 + 210 + 140
= 441
(iii) 84 + 7 = 91
Explanation: Since, the team has to consist of at least 3 girls, the team can consist of
(a) 3 girls and 2 boys, or (b) 4 girls and 1 boy.
GIRLS BOYS Note that the team cannot have all 5 girls, because, the group has only 4 girls.
3 girls and 2 boys can be selected in 4C3 ×7C2 ways.
4 girls and 1 boy can be selected in 4C4 ×7C1 ways.
Therefore, the required number of ways
3 2 = 4𝐶3 × 7𝐶2 + 4𝐶4 × 7𝐶1 = 84 + 7 = 91

4 1

Example 96
Find out the number of ways in which a cricket team consisting of 11 players can be selected from 14
players. Also find out how many of these ways (i) will include captain (ii) will not include captain?
Solution:

63 thmusondela
 The numbers of ways in which 11 out of 14 players can be selected are n Cr = 14 C11 = 364
(i) As captain is to be kept in every combination, we are to choose 10 out of the remaining 13 players.
Therefore the required number of ways, 13C10 = = 286 ways
(ii) In this case as captain is to be excluded, therefore, we are to choose 11 out of remaining 13
players which can be done in, 13C11 = 78 ways.

Example 97
A class consists of 14 boys and 17 girls. Four students from the class are to be selected to go on a trip.
(a) How many different possibilities are there for the 4 students selected to make the trip?
(b) If it has been decided that 2 boys and 2 girls will make the trip, then in how many different ways could
the 4 students be selected?
Solution:
(a) The answer is C(31,4) = 31,465.
Explanation: Altogether there are 31 students. Since 4 are to be chosen, we should think of this
question as asking how many possible ways there are to choose 4 items from 31 items. The answer is
C(31,4) = 31,465.
(b) 2𝐶1 × 3𝐶2 = 6
Explanation: Since there are 14 boys from which 2 will be selected for the trip, there are 𝐶(14,2)
= 91 possibilities for which two boys are chosen. Similarly, since there are 17 girls there are 𝐶(17,2) =
136 ways in which the girls could be chosen.
Where do we go from here? We use the multiplication principle. Since there are 91 ways to choose
the boys for the trip and 136 ways to choose the girls, the number of ways to choose the boys and the
girls for the trip is 91 × 136 = 12,376.

Example 98
A committee of 3 persons is to be constituted from a group of 2 men and3 women.
(i) In how many ways can this be done?
(ii) How many of these committees would consist of 1 man and 2 women?
Solution
5! 5×4
(i) 5 C3 = 3!2! = 2×1 = 10

Explanation: Here, order does not matter. Therefore, we need to count combinations.
There will be as many committees as there are combinations of 5 different persons taken 3 at a time.
5! 5×4
Hence, the required number of ways = 5 C3 =3!2! = 2×1 = 10

64 thmusondela
(ii) 2𝐶1 × 3𝐶2 = 6
Explanation: Now, 1 man can be selected from 2 men in 2C1 ways and 2 women can be selected from 3
women in 3C2 ways. Therefore, the required number of committees = 2𝐶1 × 3𝐶2 = 6
Pupil activity
A Club consists of 20 members, of which 9 are male and 11 are female. Seven members will be selected to
form an event-planning committee. How many committees of 4 females and 3 males can be formed?

Example 99
Twelve people travel in three cars, with four people in each car. Each car is driven by its owner. Find the
number of ways in which the remaining nine people may be allocated to the cars. (The arrangement of
people within a particular car is not relevant).
Solution
Number of combinations = 9𝐶3×6𝐶3×3𝐶3=84×20×1=1680
Explanation: The first car can be filled in 9𝐶3 ways. The second car can be filled in 6𝐶3 ways. The
third car can be filled in 3𝐶3 ways.
Number of combinations = 9𝐶3×6𝐶3×3𝐶3=84×20×1=1680

Example 100
How many words, with or without meaning, each of 3 vowels and 2 consonants can be formed from the
letters of the word INVOLUTE ?
Solution
24 × 5! = 2880.
Explanation: In the word INVOLUTE, there are 4 vowels, namely, I,O,E,Uand 4 consonants,
namely, N, V, L and T.
The number of ways of selecting 3 vowels out of 4 = 4C3 = 4.
The number of ways of selecting 2 consonants out of 4 = 4C2 = 6.
Therefore, the number of combinations of 3 vowels and 2 consonants is 4 × 6 = 24.
Now, each of these 24 combinations has 5 letters which can be arranged among themselves in 5!
Ways. Therefore, the required number of different words is 24 × 5! = 2880.

Example 101
From 6 gentlemen and 4 ladies, a committee of 5 is to be formed. In how many ways can this be done if the
committee is to include at least one lady?
Sol:

65 thmusondela
 Explanation: According to the question, the committee should include at least one lady. Consider
cases when the committee consists of 1, 2, 3 or 4 ladies and find the number of ways for all these
cases.
Different combinations are listed below:
No. of Ladies No. of Gentlemen No. of Committees
1 4 4C1 x 6C4
2 3 4C2 x 6C3
3 2 4C3 x 6C2
4 1 4C4 x 6C1
Total number of committees = 4C1 6C4 + 4C2 6C3 + 4C3 6C2 + 4C4 6C1 = 246

Example 102
How many different sections of 4 books can be made from 10 different books, if
(i) there is no restriction
(ii) two particular books are always selected;
(iii) two particular books are never selected?
Solution:
10!
(i) The total number of ways of selecting 4 books out of 10 = 10𝐶4 = 4!6! = 210
(ii) If two particular books are always selected.
This means two books are selected out of the remaining 8 books
8!
∴ Required number of ways = 8𝐶2 = 2!6! = 28
(iii) If two particular books are never selected
This means four books are selected out of the remaining 8 books.
8!
∴ Required number of ways = 8𝐶4 = 4!4! = 70

Example 103
How many different teams of 8, consisting of 5 boys and 3 girls can be made from 25 boys and 10 girls?
Solution:
5 boys out of 25 boys can be selected in 25C5 ways.
3 girls out of 10 girls can be selected in 10C3 ways.
∴ The required number of teams = 25C5 × 10C3 = 6375600

66 thmusondela
Example 14 In how many ways a committee consisting of 3 men and 2 women, can be chosen from 7 men
and 5 women?
Solution
Out of 7 men, 3 men can be chosen in 7C3 ways and out of 5 women, 2 women can be chosen in 5C2
ways. Hence, the committee can be chosen in 7C3 × 5C2 = 350 ways.

Pupil’s activity

1 From a group of 8 women and 6 men a committee consisting of 3 men and 3 women is to be formed. How
many different committees are possible if
(a) 2 of the men refuse to serve together. [896]
(b) 2 of the women refuse to serve together. [1000]
(c) 1 man and 1 woman refuse to serve together. [910]

2. A student has to sell 2 books from a collection of 6 math, 7 science and 4 economics books. How many
choices are possible if
(a) both books are to be on the same subject? 42.
(b) the books are to be on different subjects? 94:

3. A club with 10 members needs to select 4 of its members to be on a committee.

(a) In how many ways can this be done? 210.
(b) How many ways can they select the committee if two of the members (named Bob and Carol) are
feuding and refuse to serve together? 182:

4. In how many different ways can a group of 4 boys be selected from 10 if

(a) the eldest boy is included in the group? 84
(b) the eldest boy is excluded from the group? 126

5. A committee of 5 people is to be selected from 6 men and 4 women. Find

(i) the number of different ways in which the committee can be selected, [252]
(ii) the number of these selections with more women than men [66]

67 thmusondela
6. A music student needs to select 7 pieces of music from 6 classical pieces and 4 modern pieces. Find the
number of different selections that she can make if
(i) there are no restrictions, [120]
(ii) there are to be only 2 modern pieces included, [36]
(iii) there are to be more classical pieces than modern pieces. [100]

7. In a singing competition there are 8 contestants. Each contestant sings in the first round of this
competition.
(a) In how many different orders could the contestants sing? [40320]
(b) After the first round 5 contestants are chosen.
(i) In how many different ways can these 5 contestants be chosen? [56]
(ii) These 5 contestants sing again and then First, Second and Third prizes are awarded to three of them. In
how many different ways can the prizes be awarded? [60]

8. A team of 6 members is to be selected from 6 women and 8 men.

(i) Find the number of different teams that can be selected. [3003]
(ii) Find the number of different teams that consist of 2 women and 4 men [1050]
(iii) Find the number of different teams that contain no more than 1 woman [364]

9. (a) 3 students are selected to form a chess team from a group of 5 girls and 3 boys. Find the number of
possible teams that can be selected in which there are more girls than boys. [40]
(b) A sports team of 3 attackers, 2 centres and 4 defenders is to be chosen from a squad of 5 attackers, 3
centres and 6 defenders. Calculate the number of different ways in which this can be done. [450]

10. (a) A badminton team of 4 men and 4 women is to be selected from 9 men and 6 women.
(i) Find the total number of ways in which the team can be selected if there are no restrictions on the
selection.
(ii) Two of the men are twins. Find the number of ways in which the team can be selected if exactly one of
the twins is in the team.

11. A committee of four is to be selected from 7 men and 5 women.

68 thmusondela
(i) Find the number of different committees that could be selected if there are no restrictions [495]
(ii) Find the number of different committees that could be selected if there must be two male and two
female members. A brother and sister, Ken and Betty, are among the 7 men and 5 women. [210]
(iii) Find how many different committees of four could be selected so that there are two male and two
female members which must include either Ken or Betty but not both.
[ not K and B + K and not B = 𝟔𝑪𝟐 × 𝟒𝑪𝟏 + 𝟔𝑪𝟐 × 𝟒𝑪𝟏 =96]

12. A quiz team of 10 players is to be chosen from a class of 8 boys and 12 girls.
(i) Find the number of different teams that can be chosen if the team has to have equal numbers of girls and
boys. [44352]
(ii) Find the number of different teams that can be chosen if the team has to include the youngest and
oldest boy and the youngest and oldest girl. [8008]

13. A team of 6 people is to be selected from 8 men and 4 women. Find the number of different teams that
can be selected if
(i) there are no restrictions, [924]
(ii) the team contains all 4 women, [28]
(iii) the team contains at least 4 men. [672]

14 . (a) Each day a newsagent sells copies of 10 different newspapers, one of which is The Times. A customer
buys 3 different newspapers. Calculate the number of ways the customer can select his newspapers
(i) if there is no restriction, [120]
(ii) if 1 of the 3 newspapers is The Times. [36]
(b) In a group of 13 entertainers, 8 are singers and 5 are comedians. A concert is to be given by 5 of these
entertainers. In the concert there must be at least 1 comedian and there must be more singers than
comedians. Find the number of different ways that the 5 entertainers can be selected. [350]

Pupil’s activity

1. From 6 boys and 4 girls, a committee of 6 is to be formed. In how many ways can this be done if

69 thmusondela
(i) the committee contains exactly 2 girls,
(ii) the committee contains at least 2 girls?

2. A committee of 5 people is to be chosen from a group of 6 men and 4 women. How many committees are
possible if
(a) there are no restrictions?
(b) one particular person must be chosen on the committee?
(c) one particular woman must be excluded from the committee?
(d) there are to be 3 men and 2 women? there are e) to be men only?
(f) there is to be a majority of women?

3.(a) How many even numbers less than 500 can be formed using the digits 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5? Each digit may
be used only once in any number.
(b) A committee of 8 people is to be chosen from 7 men and 5 women. Find the number of different
committees that could be selected if
(i) the committee contains at least 3 men and at least 3 women,
(ii) the oldest man or the oldest woman, but not both, must be included in the committee.
0606/11/M/J/14 (Q 10)

4. (a) (i) How many different 5-digit numbers can be formed using the digits 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 9 if no digit is
repeated?
(ii) How many of these numbers are even?
(iii) How many of these numbers are less than 60 000 and even?
(b) How many different groups of 6 children can be chosen from a class of 18 children if the class contains
one set of twins who must not be separated?
0606/12/M/J/14

5 (a) A 5-character password is to be chosen from the letters A, B, C, D, E and the digits 4, 5, 6, 7.
Each letter or digit may be used only once. Find the number of different passwords that can be chosen if
(i) there are no restrictions,
(ii) the password contains 2 letters followed by 3 digits.

70 thmusondela
6. A school has 3 concert tickets to give out at random to a class of 18 boys and 15 girls.
Find the number of ways in which this can be done if
(i) there are no restrictions,
(ii) 2 of the tickets are given to boys and 1 ticket is given to a girl,
(iii) at least 1 boy gets a ticket.
0606/13/M/J/14

7 (a) (i) Find how many different 4-digit numbers can be formed using the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 if no digit
is repeated.
(ii) How many of the 4-digit numbers found in part (i) are greater than 6000?
(iii) How many of the 4-digit numbers found in part (i) are greater than 6000 and are odd?
(b) A quiz team of 10 players is to be chosen from a class of 8 boys and 12 girls.
(i) Find the number of different teams that can be chosen if the team has to have equal numbers of girls and
boys.
(ii) Find the number of different teams that can be chosen if the team has to include the youngest and
oldest boy and the youngest and oldest girl.
0606/11/O/N/14

8. A committee of four is to be selected from 7 men and 5 women. Find the number of different committees
that could be selected if
(i) there are no restrictions,
(ii) there must be two male and two female members.
A brother and sister, Ken and Betty, are among the 7 men and 5 women.
(iii) Find how many different committees of four could be selected so that there are two male and two
female members which must include either Ken or Betty but not both.
0606/23/O/N/14

9. (a) Jean has nine different flags.

(i) Find the number of different ways in which Jean can choose three flags from her nine flags. [1]
(ii) Jean has five flagpoles in a row. She puts one of her nine flags on each flagpole. Calculate the number of
different five-flag arrangements she can make. [1]

71 thmusondela
(b) The six digits of the number 738925 are rearranged so that the resulting six-digit number is even.
Find the number of different ways in which this can be done. [2]
0606/22/F/M/15

10 (a) 6 books are to be chosen from 8 different books.

(i) Find the number of different selections of 6 books that could be made. [1]
A clock is to be displayed on a shelf with 3 of the 8 different books on each side of it. Find the number of
ways this can be done if
(ii) there are no restrictions on the choice of books, [1]
(iii) 3 of the 8 books are music books which have to be kept together. [2]
(b) A team of 6 tennis players is to be chosen from 10 tennis players consisting of 7 men and 3 women. Find
the number of different teams that could be chosen if the team must include at least 1 woman. [3]

11. To compete in a quiz, a team of 5 is to be chosen from a group of 9 men and 6 women. Find the number of
different teams that can be chosen if
(i) there are no restrictions,
(ii) at least two men must be on the team.

12. Four of the letters of the word MEXICO are selected at random. Find the number of different
combinations if
(iv) there is no restriction on the letters selected,

(v) the letter M must be selected.

13. A committee of 5 people is to be selected from 6 men and 4 women. Find the number of different ways in
which the committee can be selected if
(i), there are no restrictions
(ii) the number of these selections with more women than men.
(iii) there are to be 3 men and 2 women?
(iv) one particular person must be chosen on the committee?
(v) one particular woman must be c) excluded from the committee?

72 thmusondela
14. A music student needs to select 7 pieces of music from 6 classical pieces and 4 modern pieces. Find the
number of different selections that she can make if

(i) there are no restrictions, [1]

(ii) there are to be only 2 modern pieces included, [2]

(iii) there are to be more classical pieces than modern pieces. [4]

Combination
1. A collection of 16 books contain one of Harry Potter’s book, Mary is going to choose 6 of these books to
take on holiday. In how many ways can this be done is Harry Potter’s book is chosen.
2. A chess team consisting of 8 boys and 5 girls is to be chosen from 10 boys and 7 girls. In how many ways
can this be done?
3. A group of 7 students is to be chosen from 11 boys and 9 girls. Find the number of ways of choosing 5 boys
and 2 girls.
4. A group of 6 pupils is to be chosen from 10 boys and 8 girls. Find the of ways of choosing at least 4 boys.

A group of 7 pupils is to be chosen from 11 boys and 9 girls. Find the number of ways of choosing
(a) 7 pupils
(b) At least 5 boys
5. A team of five persons is chosen from 7 women and 8 men. How many different teams can be selected, if
the team has to contain at least 3 women? [4030/2/2008]
6. In how many ways can a committee of 3 men and 2 women be selected from a group of 15 men and 12
women

COMBINING PERMUTATIONS AND COMBINATIONS

PERMUTATION AND COMBINATION PROBLEMS TOGETHER
When you encounter a problem that asks you to count the number of ways that a group can be selected
from a larger group, you need to figure out whether it is a permutation problem or a combination problem.
Here’s a reminder of how to decide.
 If the problem situation involves the selections being made in a particular order or for specific positions,
it’s a permutation counting problem (nPk).
 If the order in which the selections are made doesn’t matter in the problem situation,
it’s a combination counting problem (nCk).

Think carefully about this distinction as you do the following problems.

73 thmusondela
EXAMPLE
1. The school hiking club has 10 members.
(a) In how many ways can 3 members of the club be chosen for the Rules Committee?
(b) In how many ways can 3 members of the club be chosen for the offices of President, Vice President and
Secretary?
Solutions
(a) There is no requirement to consider the order of the people on the 3-person Rules Committee.
So the number of different committees can be found with the formula for combinations.
10C3 = 10!/(10 − 3)!3!= 120
(b) Order must be considered in choosing the three officers because it makes a difference as to
whom holds each office. So the number of different possibilities for the three offices can be found
with the formula for permutations. 10P3 = 10!/(10 − 3)! = 10 × 9 × 8 = 720

2. A committee of 7 consisting of a chairman, vice chairman a secretary, and 4 other members is to be

chosen from a class of 20 students. In how many ways can this committee be chosen?
SOLUTION
Committee consists of 2 parts:
(i) Selecting 3 named officers is 20P3
(ii) This leaves 4 committee members from the 17 remaining C(17,4)
20! 17!
Total: P(20,3)and C(17,4) = P(20,3) × C(17,4)=(17)! × 4!(13)! = 6840 × 2380 = 16,279,200 ways

3. A committee of 6 consisting of a chairman, a vice chairman, a secretary, a treasurer and 2 other members
is to be chosen from a class of 10 students. In how many ways can this committee be chosen?
SOLUTION
Committee consists of 2 parts:
(i) Selecting 3 named officers is 10P4
(ii) This leaves 2 committee members from the 6 remaining C(6,2)
10! 6!
Total: P(10,3)and C(17,4) = P(10,4) × C(7,2)=(6)! × 2!(4)! = 75600

4. If 4 Maths books are selected from 6 different Maths books and 3 English books are chosen from
5 different English books, how many ways can the seven books be arranged on a shelf

74 thmusondela
 (i)there are a no restrictions?
Solution : 6 C 4 × 5C3 × 7!
(ii) If the 4 Maths books remain together?
Solution : = (MMMM) _ _ _ 6P4 × 5C3 × 4! or ( 6C4 × 4!) × 5C3 × 4!=
(ii)a Maths book is at the beginning of the shelf?
Solution : = M _ _ _ _ _ _ = 6 × 5C3 × 5C3 × 6!

ACTIVITY

A committee consisting of a president, a vice president, and a three-member executive board will govern
the company. In how many different ways can this committee be formed? [ 87,360 ways.]

RECAP: FOUR COUNTING METHODS

 Combinations (number of ways to select without an order): If you are asked to count the number of
ways that k out of n objects can be selected without an order, the number of ways is “n combination k,”
abbreviated nCk .

 You can find nCk by setting up a fraction in the following way:

on the top, multiply k whole numbers counting downward from n;
on the bottom, multiply k whole numbers counting upward from 1.
 You can find combination numbers on your calculator (MATH  3).

Choosing which counting method to use

 If the problem involves making two or more separate decisions and asks about the combined number
of possibilities, use the Multiplication Principle.
 If the problem involves a group of objects, and asks a question about how many ways they can be
selected or assigned or put in order, use the flowchart below.

1 (a) A team of 6 members is to be selected from 6 women and 8 men.

(i) Find the number of different teams that can be selected. [1]

75 thmusondela
 (ii) Find the number of different teams that consist of 2 women and 4 men. [3]

(iii) Find the number of different teams that contain no more than 1 woman. [3]

(b) 3 DVDs and 2 videotapes are to be selected from a collection of 7 DVDs and 5 videotapes. Calculate the
number of different selections that could be made. [3]

2 A school council of 6 people is to be chosen from a group of 8 students and 6 teachers. Calculate the number
of different ways that the council can be selected if

(i) there are no restrictions,

(ii) there must be at least 1 teacher on the council and more students than teachers.

(iii) After the council is chosen, a chairperson and a secretary have to be selected from the 6 council
members. Calculate the number of different ways in which a chairperson and a secretary can be selected.

3 A committee of 4 people is to be chosen from 4 women and 5 men. The committee must contain at least 1
woman. Calculate the number of different committees that can be formed.

6. An examination paper contains 12 different questions of which 3 are on trigonometry, 4 are on algebra
and 5 are on calculus. Candidates are asked to answer 8 questions.

(i) Calculate the number of different ways in which a candidate can select 8 questions if there is no
restriction,

(ii) Calculate the number of these selections which contain questions on only 2 of the 3 topics,
trigonometry, algebra and calculus.

7 A student has a collection of 9 CDs, of which 4 are by the Beatles, 3 are by Abba and 2 are by the Rolling
Stones. She selects 4 of the CDs from her collection. Calculate the number of ways in which she can make
her selection if

(i) her selection must contain her favourite Beatles CD,

(ii) her selection must contain 2 CDs by one group and 2 CDs by another.

1. In how many ways can a team of 3 boys and 3 girls be selected from 5 boys and 4 girls?
2. Find the number of ways of selecting 9 balls from 6 red balls, 5 white balls and 5 blue balls if each
selection consists of 3 balls of each colour.
3. In how many ways can one select a cricket team of eleven from 17 players in which only 5 players can
bowl if each cricket team of 11 must include exactly 4 bowlers?

76 thmusondela
4. A bag contains 5 black and 6 red balls. Determine the number of ways in which
2 black and 3 red balls can be selected.
5. In how many ways can a student choose a programme of 5 courses if 9 courses are available and 2 specific
courses are compulsory for every student?

Activity

1. How many chords can be drawn through 21 points on a circle ?

2. In how many ways can a cricket team be chosen out of a batch of 15 players, if
(a) there is no restriction on the selection;
(b) a particular player is always chosen;
(c) a particular player is never chosen ?

3. A committee of 5 is to be formed out of 6 men and 4 ladies. In how many ways can this be done, when
(a) at least 2 ladies are included;
(b) at most 2 ladies are included ?

4. An examination paper containing 12 questions consists of two parts, A and B. Part A contains
7 questions and part B contains 5 questions. A candidate is required to attempt 8 questions, selecting at
least 3 from each part. In how many ways can the candidate select the questions ?
5. How many diagonals are there in a polygon of n sides ?
6. There are 10 points in a plane, no three of which are in the same straight line. except 4 points, whichare
collinear. Find :

(i) the number of lines obtained from the pairs of these points;
(ii) the number of triangles that can be formed with vertices as these points.
7. In an examination, a candidate has to pass in each of the 5 subjects. In how many ways can he fail ?
8. In how many ways can 21 books on English and 19 books on Hindi be placed in a row on a shelf so that
two books on Hindi may not be together ?
[Answers : (1) 210 (2) (a) 1365 (b) 1001 (c) 364 (3) (a) 186 (b) 180 (4) 420 (5) n(n – 3) 21 (6) (i) 40

77 thmusondela
 Activity

1. Find the number of arrangements of the letters of

(a) DREAD (b) CASSETTE (c) TERROR (d) HORROR (e)INTERDENOMINATIONAL
2. How many arrangements are there of the letters from ABACUS in which
(a) the A' s are together? (b) the A' s are not together?
4. How many arrangements are there of the letters from BRAINS in which the vowels are together?
5. How many arrangements are there of the letters from IDAHO in which the consonants are separated?
6. A library contains 10 thrillers and 18 science-fiction books. In how many ways can a borrower select 2 of
each?
7. A committee must contain 3 men and 4 women. In how many ways can the committee be chosen from 10
men and 6 women?
8. In how many ways can 7 men and 8 women sit on a beach, if no 2 women can sit next to each other?
9. A shelf contains 5 Western books and 4 Romances. In how many ways can
(a) they be arrangedwithout any restrictions
(b) they be arranged if all the Western are together and all the Romances are together
(c) they be arranged if all the Western are together
(d) they be arranged if no two Western are together?
10. How many codes are there in the Mastermind game of Question 10, 36.1.2, without the restriction that
colours may not be repeated?
11. How many numbers are there between 100 and 1000 in which the digit 0 does not appear?
12. How many numbers between 500 and 1000 are there using only the digits 1, 3, 4, 6, 7?
13. How many odd numbers are there between 5000 and 10000 are there using only the digits 1, 3, 6, 7, 8?
14. 12 circles are drawn on a piece of paper. What is the greatest possible number of intersection points?
15. In a certain country car registration numbers consist of 3 letters followed by 4 numbers. How many
registrations are possible if
(a) no letter or digit may be repeated
(b) without such a restriction?
16. How many 3 letter arrangements can be taken from the letters of DREAD?
17. In its sweet-box a child has 3 toffees, 2 chocolates and 1 liquorice. Its mother only allows it to eat 3. In
how many ways can this be done?
18. There are 27 children in a class. Find the probability that:
78 thmusondela
(a) Their birthdays are all different.
(b) At least two children have the same birthday.
(Ignore leap years; assume that all days of the year are equally likely; leave your answer in factorial form)
19. In Bridge the 52 cards are dealt to 4 players. How many possible Bridge deals are there?
20. Find the probability that a Bridge hand of 13 cards contains:
(a) 7 spades (b) 7 cards all of the same suit
21. In a game of Bridge, North and South have 8 hearts between them. What is the probability that the
remaining 5 are split 3-2 or 2-3 between East and West?
22. A railway carriage has 4 seats on each side. In how many ways can 6 men and 2 women sit if
(a) the women sit opposite each other
(b) the women do not sit next to each other?
23. A diagonal of a polygon is a line joining two vertices which are not next to each other. How many
diagonals are there for a
(a) 10 sided polygon (b) n-side polygon.
24. In how many ways can two taxis, each of which will take at most 4 passengers, take a party of 7 people
if 2 of them refuse to be in the same taxi?

Activity

1. In the small country of Ruritania, car registration plates consist of different arrangements of groups of 4
letters taken from the Ruritanian alphabet which consists of 10 letters. Calculate the number of different
registration plates which can be made if

(a) repetitions of letters are not allowed

(b) the letters can be repeated any number of times

2. Three girls and three boys enter a railway compartment in which there are six seats altogether, three on
each side. In how many different ways can the seats be occupied?

If the girls all sit on one side and the boys sit opposite in how many different ways can the seats be
occupied?

79 thmusondela
If the girls enter the compartment first and occupy three of the four corner seats and the boys then follow
them and occupy the remaining seats, in how many different ways can the seats be occupied?

3. John and Mary are members of a group of eight boys and two girls.
(a) In how many ways can they all be seated in a row if John and Mary always sit together?
(b) In how many ways can a sub-committee of five be chosen from the same group of ten if:
(i) both John and Mary are on it,
(ii) either John or Mary is on it but not both,
(iii) at least one girl is on it? [O&C ADD]

4. A certain game is played with a number of cards, each of which has a single letter printed on it. A
Player has ten cards, which are lettered A, C, E, E, E, F, L, W , X respectively.
(i) A 'word' is any arrangement of these ten letters, for example LXCELWFEEA.
(a) Find the total number of different 'word' that the player can make.
(ii) A second player chooses three of the first player' s ten cards at random, and takes them from the first
player. Calculate the probability that
(a) the three cards will all carry the letter E or L,
(b) the first player' s remaining seven cards will all carry different letters.

5. How many distinguishable arrangements of the 10 letters of the word STATISTICS are possible?
Three letters are selected without replacement from these ten and the number of distinguishable ways of
arranging them is calculated. What is the total number of distinguishable arrangements for all possible
such selections?
The ten letters are written one on each of ten cards. Two cards are selected at random and form these any
card not carrying an S or a T is discarded and another selected in its place from the remaining cards. What
is the probability that the cards now chosen are either two S'
s or two T's?]

Activity

1. Find the number of different ways in which a gold, a silver and a bronze medal can be awarded to 15
competitors if each competitor can win only one medal. [2730]

80 thmusondela
2. In how many different ways may 10 different letters be placed in 15 different boxes, not more than one
15 !
letter being placed in any box? You may leave the answer in factorial form.
5!
3. A shop has 5 different printers but there is space for only 3 printers on the display shelf. How many
arrangements are possible? [60]
4. A photographer wishes to arrange 7 children consisting of 3 boys and 4 girls in a straight line for a
picture. In how many ways can he do this if
(a) the girls are separated 144
(b) the 3 boys occupy the 3 central positions [144]
5. Find the number of ways ABCDE can be arranged if
(a) the arrangements must begin with the letter A. [24]
(b) do not begin with the letter A [96]

Activity

2 (a) Calculate the number of arrangements of the letters in the word PREVIOUSLY
(b) A School has three grade 10 classes. In how many can three out of 8 Mathematics teachers be allocated
to the classes?

3 In how many ways can 7 red marbles and 3 green marbles be put in a straight line,
(a) if there are no restrictions
(b) if green marbles should not be next to each other?

5. In how many ways can 5 boys and 3 girls stand in a straight line, if
(a) there are no restrictions
(b) the boys stand next to each other

3. In how many ways can 8 books each covering a different subject be arranged on a shelf such that books
on biology, geography and mathematics are never together. 14400]

1. Find the total number of different permutations of all the letters of the word
a. SARJANA b. MATEMATIKAb. SANTOALBERTUS d. KOMPETENSI

81 thmusondela
2. How many numbers between 2000 and 5000 can be made from the digits 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8 if each digit is
used only once?
3. Each of 7 children, in turn throws a ball once at a target. Calculate the number of ways the children can
be arranged in order to take the throws.
Given that 3 of the children are girls and 4 are boys, calculate the number of ways the children can be
arranged in order that
a. successive throws are made by boys and girls alternately,
b. a girl taken the first throw and a boy takes the last throw.
4. In a Mathematics class with 30 students, the teacher wants 2 different students to present the solutions
to problems 3 and 5 on the board. In how many ways can be the teacher assign the problems?
5. Ami, Beni, Cori, Dani, and Eri went to Dempo concert. How many arrangements were possible when they
sit in five adjacent seats if
a. Eri insists on sitting next to Cori? b. Beni refuses to sit next to Dani?
6. Calculate the number of arrangements of the letters of the world PELUANG if
a. all the consonants are together, b. no two consonant are together,
c. each arrangement begins with a consonant and ends with a vowel.
7. Calculate the total number of different permutations of all the letters A, B, C, D, E, F when
a. there are no restrictions, b. the letters A and B are to be adjacent to one together,
c. the first letter is A, B, C and the last letter is D, E or F.
8. Twelve jewels of different colour will be arranged to form a clock. Find the number of possibilities.
9. Five books: ABCDE will be arranged on a shelf under the condition: the books B and E are always in
adjacent. Find the number of those possibilities.
10. How many phone numbers are there that contain 5 different digits, where the first digits are not zero?
11. 9 different books are to be arranged on a book-shelf. 4 of these books were written by
Mira W, 2 by Ayu Utami, and 3 by Remy Sylado. How many possible permutations are
there if
a. the books by Remy must be next to each other?
b. the books by Ayu are separated from each other?
c. the books by Remy are separated from each other?
12. At Dempo art exhibition 7 paintings are hung in a row along one wall. Find the number of
possible arrangements. Given that 3 paintings are made by the same artist, find the
number of arrangements in which
a. these 3 paintings are hung side by side,

82 thmusondela
b. any one of these paintings is hung at the beginning of the row but neither of the other 2

Activity

1. How many words, with or without meaning, can be formed using all the letters of the word EQUATION,
using each letter exactly once?
2. How many words, with or without meaning can be made from the letters of the word MONDAY,
assuming that no letter is repeated, if.
(i) 4 letters are used at a time,
(ii) all letters are used at a time,
(iii) all letters are used but first letter is a vowel?
3. In how many of the distinct permutations of the letters in MISSISSIPPI do the four I’s not come together?
4. In how many ways can the letters of the word PERMUTATIONS be arranged if the
(i) words start with P and end with S,
(ii) vowels are all together,
(iii) there are always 4 letters between P and S?
5. In how many ways can 3 boys and 3 girls sit in a row no two people of the same sex are allowed to sit
together? [72.]
6. Calculate the number of arrangements of the letters in the word PREVIOUSLY
7. A School has three grade 10 classes. In how many can three out of 8 Mathematics teachers be allocated to
the classes?
8.In how many ways can 7 red marbles and 3 green marbles be put in a straight line,
(a) if there are no restrictions
(b) if green marbles should not be next to each other?
9. Calculate the number arrangements of the word ‘’DISCOVERY’.
10 Seven runners are hoping to take part in a race, but the truck has only five lanes. In how many ways can
five of the seven runners be assigned to the lanes?

Activity

1. In how many ways can a football team of 11 players be selected from 16 players?
83 thmusondela
How many of them will
(i) include 2 particular players?
(ii) exclude 2 particular players?
2. A sports team of 11 students is to be constituted, choosing at least 5 from Class XI and atleast 5 from
Class XII. If there are 20 students in each of these classes, in how many ways can the team be constituted?
3. A group consists of 4 girls and 7 boys. In how many ways can a team of 5 members be selected if the team
has
(i) no girls (ii) at least one boy and one girl (iii) at least three girls

60. There are 3 books on Mathematics, 4 on Physics and 5 on English. How many different collections can
be made such that each collection consists of :
(a) One book of each subject; (i) 3968
(b) At least one book of each subject : (ii) 60
(c) At least one book of English: (iii) 3255
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PERMUTATION AND COMBINATION:
1. In a combination only selection is made whereas in a permutation not only a selection is made but also an
arrangement in a definite order is considered. i.e. in a combination, the ordering of the selected objects is
immaterial whereas in a permutation, the ordering is essential.
2. Usually the number of permutation exceeds the number of combinations.
3. Each combination corresponds to many permutations. From all the nCr combinations we get 𝑛𝐶𝑟 × 𝑟!
permutations.
The n and the r mean the same thing in both the permutation and combinations, but the formula differs.
Note that the combination has an extra r! in its denominator
Sometimes it’s necessary to read a problem carefully to recognize this distinction and make the correct
choice to use a permutation number or a combination number

11 a How many odd numbers less than 600 can be found using the digits 1, 2, 3, 5, 6. Each digit may be used once
only in any number. [4]
b A committee of 5 people is to be chosen from 6 women and 4 men. Find the number of different committees
that can be selected if:
(i) the committee has more women than men [4]
(ii) Mr and Mrs Smith cannot both serve together, but one of them must be present. [2]

84 thmusondela
 b Six members of a class of 12 will be selected to go on a trip in the school van.
In how many ways can this be done if Sally will not travel with Ahmed (given that both Sally and Ahmed are part of
the six members selected)? [3]

85 thmusondela