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College Algebra
Tutorial 57:
Combinations

Learning Objectives

After completing this tutorial, you should be able to:

1. Use combinations to solve a counting problem involving groups.

Introduction

In this tutorial we will be going over combinations. When you need to count the
number of groupings, without regard to order, then combinations are the way to
go. Recall that permutations specifically count the number of ways a task can
be arranged or ordered. That is the difference between the two, permutations is
with regard to order and combinations is without regard to order. If you need a
review on permutations, feel free to go to Tutorial 56: Permutations. Let's see
what you can do with these combinations.

Tutorial
 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.

The number of such combinations is denoted by

The difference between combinations and permutations is in combinations you

are counting groups (order is not important) and in permutations you are
counting different ways to arrange items with regard to order.

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.

If you need review on permutations or factorials, feel free to go to Tutorial 56:

Permutations.

Example 1: In a conference of 9 schools, how many intraconference

football games are played during the season if the teams all play each other
exactly once?

When the teams play each other, order does not matter, we are
counting match ups. For each game there is a group of two teams
playing. So we can use combinations to help us out here.

Note that if we were putting these teams in any kind of order, then we
would need to use permutations to solve the problem.
But in this case, order does not matter, so we are going to use
combinations.

First we need to find n and r :

If n is the number of teams we have to choose from, what do

you think n is in this problem?

If you said n = 9 you are correct!!! There are 9 teams in the

conference.

If r is the number of teams we are using at a time, what do you

think r is?

If you said r = 2, pat yourself on the back!! 2 teams play per

game.

Let’s put those values into the combination formula and see what
we get:

*n = 9, r = 2

*Eval. inside ( )

*Expand 9! until it gets to 7!

which is the larger ! in the den.

*Cancel out 7!'s

If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 9!, divided by 7!,
divided by 2! and then press enter or =.

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in. It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
 some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all those numbers one by one.

Wow, this means there are 36 different games in the conference.

Example 2: You are going to draw 4 cards from a standard deck of 52

cards. How many different 4 card hands are possible?

This would be a combination problem, because a hand would be a

group of cards without regard to order.

Note that if we were putting these cards in any kind of order, then we
would need to use permutations to solve the problem.

But in this case, order does not matter, so we are going to use
combinations.

First we need to find n and r :

If n is the number of cards we have to choose from, what do

you think n is in this problem?

If you said n = 52 you are correct!!! There are 52 cards in a

deck of cards.

If r is the number of cards we are using at a time, what do you

think r is?

If you said r = 4, pat yourself on the back!! We want 4 card

hands.

Let’s put those values into the combination formula and see what
we get:
 *n = 52, r = 4

*Eval. inside ( )

*Expand 52! until it gets to 48!

which is the larger ! in the den.

*Cancel out 48!'s

If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 52!, divided by 48!,
divided by 4! and then press enter or =.

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in. It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all those numbers one by one.

Wow, this means there are 270,725 different 4 card hands.

Example 3: 3 marbles are drawn at random from a bag containing 3

red and 5 white marbles. Answer the following questions (a - d):

3a. How many different draws are there?

This would be a combination problem, because a draw would be a

group of marbles without regard to order. It is like grabbing a
handful of marbles and looking at them.

Note that there are no special conditions placed on the marbles that we
draw, so this is a straight forward combination problem.

Note that if we were putting these marbles in any kind of order, then we
would need to use permutations to solve the problem.

But in this case, order does not matter, so we are going to use
combinations.

First we need to find n and r:

If n is the number of marbles we have to choose from, what do

you think n is in this problem?

If you said n = 8 you are correct!!! There are 3 red and 5 white
marbles for a total of 8 marbles.

If r is the number of marbles we are drawing at a time, what do

you think r is?

If you said r = 3, pat yourself on the back!! 3 marbles are drawn

at a time.

Let’s put those values into the combination formula and see what
we get:

*n = 8, r = 3

*Eval. inside ( )

*Expand 8! until it gets to 5!

which is the larger ! in the den.

*Cancel out 5!'s

 If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 8!, divided by 5!,
divided by 3! and then press enter or =.

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in. It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all those numbers one by one.

Wow, this means there are 56 different draws.

3b. How many different draws would contain only red marbles?

This would be a combination problem, because a draw would be a

group of marbles without regard to order. It is like grabbing a
handful of marbles and looking at them.

In part a above, we looked at all possible draws. From that list we

only want the ones that contain only red.

Let’s see what the draw looks like: we would have to have 3 red
marbles to meet this condition:

3 RED

First we need to find n and r :

If n is the number of RED marbles we have to choose from,

what do you think n is in this problem?

If you said n = 3 you are correct!!! There are a total of 3 red

marbles.

If r is the number of RED marbles we are drawing at a time,

what do you think r is?

If you said r = 3, pat yourself on the back!! 3 RED marbles are

drawn at a time.
 Let’s put those values into the combination formula and see what
we get:

*n = 3, r = 3

*Eval. inside ( )

*Cancel out 3!'s

If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 3!, divided by 0!,
divided by 3! and then press enter or =.

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in. It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all those numbers one by one.

This means there is only 1 draw out of the 56 found in part a that
would contain 3 RED marbles.

3c. How many different draws would contain 1 red and 2 white marbles?

This would be a combination problem, because a draw would be a

group of marbles without regard to order. It is like grabbing a
handful of marbles and looking at them.

In part a above, we looked at all possible draws. From that list we

only want the ones that contain 1 RED and 2 WHITE marbles.

Let’s see what the draw looks like: we would have to have 1 red
and 2 white marbles to meet this condition:
 1 RED 2 WHITE

First we need to find n and r:

Together that would make up 1 draw. We are going to have to

use the counting principle to help us with this one. If you need a
review on the Fundamental Counting Principle, feel free to got
to Tutorial 55: The Fundamental Counting Principle.

Note how 1 draw is split into two parts - red and white. We can
not combine them together because we need a particular number
of each one. So we will figure out how many ways to get 1
RED and how many ways to get 2 WHITE, and using the
counting principle, we will multiply these numbers together.

1 RED:

If n is the number of RED marbles we have to choose

from, what do you think n is in this problem?

If you said n = 3 you are correct!!! There are a total of 3

RED marbles.

If r is the number of RED marbles we are drawing at a

time, what do you think r is?

If you said r = 1, pat yourself on the back!! 1 RED

marble is drawn at a time.

2 WHITE:

If n is the number of WHITE marbles we have to choose

from, what do you think n is in this problem?

If you said n = 5 you are correct!!! There are a total of 5

WHITE marbles.

If r is the number of WHITE marbles we are drawing at

a time, what do you think r is?
 If you said r = 2, pat yourself on the back!! 2 WHITE
marbles are drawn at a time.

Let’s put those values into the combination formula and see what
we get:

*RED: n = 3, r = 3
*WHITE: n = 5, r = 2

*Eval. inside ( )

*Expand 3! until it gets to 2!

*Expand 5! until it gets to 3!

*Cancel out 2!'s and 3!'s

If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 3!, times 5!, divided
by 2!, divided by 1!, divided by 3!, divided by 2! and then press
enter or =.

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in. It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all those numbers one by one.

This means there are 30 draws that would contain 1 RED and 2
WHITE marbles.

3d. How many different draws would contain exactly 2 red marbles?
This would be a combination problem, because a draw would be a
group of marbles without regard to order. It is like grabbing a
handful of marbles and looking at them.

In part a above, we looked at all possible draws. From that list we

only want the ones that contain 2 RED and 1 WHITE marbles.
Remember that we need a total of 3 marbles in the draw. Since we
have to have 2 red, that leaves us needing 1 white to complete the draw
of 3.

Let’s see what the draw looks like: we would have to have 2 red
and 1 white marbles to meet this condition:

2 RED 1 WHITE

First we need to find n and r:

Together that would make up 1 draw. We are going to have to

use the counting principle to help us with this one. If you need a
review on the Fundamental Counting Principle, feel free to got
to Tutorial 55: The Fundamental Counting Principle.

Note how 1 draw is split into two parts - red and white. We can
not combine them together because we need a particular number
of each one. So we will figure out how many ways to get 2
RED and how many ways to get 1 WHITE, and using the
counting principle, we will multiply these numbers together.

2 RED:

If n is the number of RED marbles we have to choose

from, what do you think n is in this problem?

If you said n = 3 you are correct!!! There are a total of 3

RED marbles.

If r is the number of RED marbles we are drawing at a

time, what do you think r is?

If you said r = 2, pat yourself on the back!! 2 RED

marble is drawn at a time.
 1 WHITE:

If n is the number of WHITE marbles we have to choose

from, what do you think nis in this problem?

If you said n = 5 you are correct!!! There are a total of 5

WHITE marbles.

If r is the number of WHITE marbles we are drawing at

a time, what do you think r is?

If you said r = 1, pat yourself on the back!! 1 WHITE

marble are drawn at a time.

Let’s put those values into the combination formula and see what
we get:

*RED: n = 3, r = 2
*WHITE: n = 5, r = 1

*Eval. inside ( )

*Expand 3! until it gets to 2!

*Expand 5! until it gets to 4!

If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 3!, times 5!, divided
by 1!, divided by 2!, divided by 4!, divided by 1! and then press
enter or =.

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in. It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all those numbers one by one.

This means there are 15 draws that would contain 2 RED and 1
 WHITE marbles.

Practice Problems

These are practice problems to help bring you to the next level. It will allow
you to check and see if you have an understanding of these types of problems.
Math works just like anything else, if you want to get good at it, then you
need to practice it. Even the best athletes and musicians had help along the
way and lots of practice, practice, practice, to get good at their sport or
instrument. In fact there is no such thing as too much practice.

To get the most out of these, you should work the problem out on your own
and then check your answer by clicking on the link for the
answer/discussion for that problem. At the link you will find the answer as
well as any steps that went into finding that answer.

Practice Problems 1a - 1b:

A teacher has 15 students and 5 are to be

chosen to give demonstrations. How many
different ways can the teacher choose the
demonstrators given the following
conditions.

1a. The order of the demonstrators is important?

(answer/discussion to 1a)

1b. The order of the demonstrators is not important?

(answer/discussion to 1b)
 Practice Problems 2a - 2c:

8 students names will be drawn at random

from a hat containing 14 freshmen names,
15 sophomore names, 8 junior names, and
10 senior names.

2a. How many different draws of 8 names are there overall?

(answer/discussion to 2a)

2b. How many different draws of 8 names would contain only juniors?
(answer/discussion to 2b)

2c. How many different draws of 8 names would contain exactly 4 juniors and 4
seniors?
(answer/discussion to 2c)

Need Extra Help on These Topics?

There were no good webpages found to help us with the topics on this page.

Go to Get Help Outside the Classroom found in Tutorial 1: How to Succeed

in a Math Class for some more suggestions.
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All contents copyright (C) 2002, WTAMU and Kim Peppard. All rights reserved.
Last revised on June 23, 2003 by Kim Peppard.