1.

Example 5: Using the permutation formula

There are 9 people in a hiking club. They decide to put each persons name in a hat
and to randomly select a president, a vice president, and a secretary. How many dierent
arrangements or permutations of o cers are possible?
Solution: Since there are 9 people, n = 9, of which 3 are to be selected; r = 3.
9! 9! 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
9 P3 = = = = 9 8 7 = 504
(9 3)! 6! 6 5 4 3 2 1
987654321 9 8 7 6!
The fraction 654321
can be also expressed as 6!
= 9 8 7 = 504

Permutations of Duplicate Items.

Above we have considered the arrangements of distinct items. Consider the permutation
problems in which some of the items to be arranged are duplicates. For example, the name
BOB contains 3 letters, of which the 2 B 0 s are duplicates. How many permutations of the
letters in the name BOB are possible? If the 2 B 0 s were distinguishable (one red B1 and the
other green B2 ), there would be 6 permutations:

B1 OB2 B1 B2 O OB1 B2
B2 OB1 B2 B1 O OB2 B1

However, if the B 0 s are not distinguishable (replacing B1 and B2 with B), we see there are
only 3 permutations:
BOB BBO OBB
The number of permutations of the letters in BOB can be computed as
3! 3 2 1
= =3
2! 2 1
where 3! represents the number of permutations of 3 letters, assuming that none are dupli-
cates, and 2! represents the number of ways the 2 items that are duplicates can be arranged
(B1 B2 or B2 B1 ). In general we have the following rule:

Permutations of Duplicate Objects

The number of distinct permutations of n objects where n1 of the objects are

identical, n2 of the objects are identical, . . . , nr of the objects are identical is
found by the formula
n!
n1 !n2 !:::nr !
Example 7: What is the number of ways of arranging the letters of W OOLLOOM OOLOO?
Solution: Here there are 13 letters: 8 O0 s, 3 L0 s, 1 W , 1 M . First of all, let us label the
O0 s and L0 s to make them dierent, so that

M O1 O2 L1 L2 O3 O4 W O5 O6 L3 O7 O8 and M O2 O1 L1 L2 O3 O4 W O5 O6 L3 O7 O8

1
are considered to be dierent arrangements. In this case there are 13! arrangements of 13
dierent letters. On the other hand, the 8 dierent O0s are having a private contest among
themselves to see who is used rst, second, and so on, and they have 8! ways of resolving
this. Similarly, the 3 dierent L0s have 3! ways of resolving their own dispute. Unlabelling
the O0s and L0s, we see that we have overcounted, and the correct number is really only
13! 13 11 10 9 8! 13 11 10 9
= = = 13 11 5 3 = 25740
8!3! 8! 1 2 3 2 3
Example 6: Duplicate Letters
In how many dierent ways can the letters of the word MISSISSIPPIbe arranged?
Solution: of the 11 letters, 4 are I0s, 4 are S0s, and 2 are P 0s. The number of possible
arrangements is
11! 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 11 10 9 7 5
= = = = 34650
4!4!2! 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 2 1 4 3 2 2 1

To conclude the topic on permutations let us solve the following problem.

Example 8: We shall make 5-digit numbers from the digits 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, where no
digit is used more than once.
(a) If there are no further restrictions, then there are
8! 8! 8 7 6 5 4 3!
8 P5 = = = = 8 7 6 5 4 = 6720
(8 5)! 3! 3!
dierent 5-digit numbers;
(b) Suppose that the rst digit is 1. Then there are 7 P4 = (7 7!4)! = 7!
3!
= 7 6 5 4 = 840 ways
of choosing the remaining 4 digits. Hence there are 840 dierent 5-digit numbers starting
with 1.
(c) Suppose that the 5-digit number must contain the digit 1. Then there are 5 choices
for placing the digit 1. Having made this choice, there are 7 P4 = 840 ways of choosing the
remaining 4 digits. Hence the total number of such 5-digit numbers is equal to 5 840 = 4040:
Note that we can denote 5 choices for placing the digit 1 as 5 P1 = (5 5!1)! = 5!4!
= 5 (we choose
1 place out of 5 possible).
(d) Suppose that the 5-digit number must begin with the digit 1 and contain the digit
2. Then there are 4 choices for placing the digit 2. Having made this choice, there are
6! 6!
6 P3 = (6 3)! = 3! = 6 5 4 = 120 ways of choosing the remaining 3 digits. Hence the total
number of such 5-digit numbers is equal to 4 120 = 480:

COMBINATIONS
When the order of the selection of the items is unimportant to the nal outcome, the problem
is a combination problem.
Recall that permutations are ordered arrangements. For example,

a; b; c
b; c; a

2
are two dierent permutations because the ordering of the 3 letters is dierent. But the letters
a; b; c and b; c; a represent the same combination of letters because the same letters are used
in each set. However, the letters a; b; c and a; b; d represent two dierent combinations of
letters because the letters contained in each set are dierent.

A combination is a distinct group (or set) of objects without

regard to their arrangement.
Example 1: Permutation or Combination
Determine whether the situation represents a permutation or combination problem.
(a) A group of 5 friends, Ann, Inez, Judy, Dan and Fran, are forming a club. The group
will elect a president and a treasurer. In how many dierent ways can the president and
treasurer be selected?
(b) Of the ve individuals named, two will be attending a meeting together. In how many
dierent ways can they do so?
Solution: (a) Since the presidents position is dierent from the treasurers position, we
have a permutation problem. Judy as president with Dan as treasurer is dierent from Dan
as president with Judy as treasurer. The order of the selection is important.
(b) Since the order in which the two individuals selected to attend the meeting is not im-
portant, we have a combination problem. There is no dierence if Judy is selected and then
Dan is selected, or if Dan is selected and then Judy is selected.

n Pr represents the number of permutations when r items are selected from n distinct
items. Similarly, n Cr represents the number of combinations when r items are selected from
n distinct items.
Consider the set of 5 elements fa; b; c; d; eg : The number of permutations of 2 letters
from the set is represented as 5 P2 and the number of permutations of 2 letters from the set
is represented as 5 C2 :

Permutations Combinations
ab; ba; ac; ca; ad; da; ae; ea; bc; cb; ab; ac; ad; ae; bc;
20 10
bd; db; be; eb; cd; dc; ce; ec; de; ed bd; be; cd; ce; de

Thus, 5 P2 = 20 and 5 C2 = 10:

When discussing both combination and permutation problems, we always assume that
the experiment is performed without replacement. That is why duplicate letters such as aa
or bb are not included in this example.
Note that from one combination of 2 letters 2 permutations can be formed. For example,
the combination ab gives the permutations ab and ba, or twice as many permutations as
combinations. Thus, for this example we may write

5 P2 =2 5 C2

Since 2 = 2! we may write

5 P2
5 P2 = 2! 5 C2 or 5 C2 =
2!

3
If we repeated this same process for comparing the number of permutations in n Pr with the
number of combinations in n Cr , we would nd that
n Pr = r! n Cr
Dividing both sides of the equation gives
n Pr
n Cr =
r!
n!
Since n Pr = (n r)!
, the combination formula may be expressed as
n!
n Cr =
(n r)! r!
The number of combinations possible when r objects are selected from n objects is found
by the combination formula
n!
n Cr =
(n r)! r!
Example: Exam question selection
An exam consists of 6 questions. Any 4 may be selected for answering. In how many
ways can this selection be made?
Solution: This problem is a combination problem because the order in which the four
questions are answered does not matter. n = 6; r = 4:
6! 6! 6 5 4! 6 5 3 5
6 C4 = = = = = = 15
(6 4)! 4! 2! 4! 1 2 4! 2 1
Example: Airline seat availability
A commercial airline is seating passengers. With a few minutes to go before take-o,
there are 9 passengers who are ying standby and wish to get seats, but only 5 seats are
available. Determine the number of dierent ways a group of 5 people can be selected from
the 9 to board the plane. So we need to choose 5 people out of 9.
Solution: n = 9; r = 5:
9! 9! 9 8 7 6 5! 9 8 7 6 9 2 7
9 C5 = = = = = = 9 2 7 = 126
(9 5)! 5! 4! 5! 1 2 3 4 5! 2 3 4 1
Example: Dinner combinations
At a restaurant, dinner for 8 people consists of 3 items from column A, 4 items from
column B and 3 items from column C. If columns A; B; C have 5; 7; 6 items respectively,
how many dierent dinner combinations are possible?
Solution: For column A, 3 out of 5 items must be selected, which can be represented as
5 C3 : For column B, 4 out of 7 items must be selected, which can be represented as 7 C4 : For
column C, 3 out of 6 items must be selected, or 6 C3 :
5! 5 4 3!
5 C3 = = = 5 2 = 10;
2! 3! 1 2 3!
7! 7 6 5 4!
7 C4 = = = 7 5 = 35;
3! 4! 1 2 3 4!
6! 6 5 4 3!
6 C3 = = = 5 4 = 20:
3! 3! 1 2 3 3!

4
Using the counting principle, we can determine the total number of dinner combinations by
multiplying the number of choices from columns A; B, and C:

5 C3 7 C4 6 C3 = 10 35 20 = 7000

Therefore, 7000 dierent combinations are possible under these conditions.

We have considered various counting methods, including the counting principle, permuta-
tions, and combinations. We often need to decide which method to use to solve a problem.

Summary of Counting Methods:

Counting principle: If a rst experiment can be performed in M distinct ways and a
second experiment can be performed in N distinct ways, then the two experiments in that
specic order can be performed in M N distinct ways.
The counting principle may be used with or without repetition of items. It is used when
determining the number of dierent ways that two or more experiments can occur. It is also
used when there are specic placement requirements, such as the rst digit must be a 0 or
1.
Determining a number of ways of selecting r items from n items. Repetition not
permitted.
(a) Permutations
Permutations are used when order is important. For example, a; b; c and b; c; a are two
dierent permutations of the same three letters.
n!
n Pr =
(n r)!

Problems solved with the permutation formula may also be solved by using the counting
principle.
(b) Combinations
Combinations are used when order is not important. For example, a; b; c and b; c; a are the
same combination of three letters. But a; b; c, and a; b; d are two dierent combinations of
three letters.
n!
n Cr =
(n r)! r!