COUNTING

RULES
 MULTIPLICATION RULE
determine the total number of outcomes of a sequence
of events .

Multiplication Rule 1:
In a sequence of n events in which the first one has
k1, possibilities and the second event has k2 and the third has
k3, and so forth, the total possibilities of the sequence will be

# of sample points n1 xn2 xn3 x  xnk

Illustration:
Find the number of 4 letter words, with or without meaning, which
can be formed out of the letters of the word ROSE, where the
repetition of the letters is not allowed.

COUNTING RULES 2
n1 = 4 choices of letter R O S E
n2 = 3 choices of letter excluding the chosen first letter
n3 = 2 choices of letter excluding the chosen first two
letters
n1 = 1 remaining letter

4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 24 four-letter words
ROSE ORSE SORE EOSR
ROES ORES SOER EORS
RSOE OSRE SROE ESOR
RSEO OSER SREO ESRO
REOS OERS SEOR EROS
RESO OESR SERO ERSO

COUNTING RULES 3
 Multiplication Rule 2:
If each event in a sequence of n events has n
different possibilities, then the total number of possibilities of
the sequence will be:
k
nxnxn  xn n

COUNTING RULES 4
 Illustration:
1)Findthe number of 4 letter words, with or without meaning,
which can be formed out of the letters of the word ROSE, where
the repetition of the letters is allowed.
n = 4 choices of letter R O S E
44 = 256 four-letter words

2) A coin is tossed 3 times, how many possible outcomes are

there?
n = 2 outcomes on each toss
23 = 8 possible outcomes

3) The digits 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 are to be used in a four — digit ID

card. How many different cards are possible if repetitions are
permitted?
54 = 625 different cards

COUNTING RULES 5
 PERMUTATION
An arrangement of all or part of a set of objects

Permutation rule 1:
The number of permutations
(arrangements) of n objects (all group
elements) is n! or the number of
permutation of a distinct objects taken all
together is n!

n!(n)(n  1)(n  2)(n  3)  (3)(2)(1)

(Note that 0! = 1).

COUNTING RULES 6
ILLUSTRATION:
1)How many different ordered arrangements of the letters
a,b,c are possible?
3! = 3 x 2 x 1 = 6 possible arrangements
abc bac cab
acb bca cba

2) a) How many ways can 7 people be lined up to get on a

bus?
7! = 5,040 ways
b) If 3 specific persons, among 7,
insist on following each other, how
many ways are possible?
3! 5! = 720 ways

COUNTING RULES 7

3!
Permutation rule 2:
The arrangement of n objects in a specific
order using r objects at a time is called
permutation of n objectsntaken
! r objects at a
time. P  n r
(n  r )!

Illustration:
1) Find the number of permutations by taking two letters at
a time from the four letters a, b, c and d.

a ab ba ca da
b ac bc cb db
c ad bd cd dc
d

COUNTING RULES 8
 2. a) How many ways can a president, vice president,
treasurer and secretary be selected from 10 people?
n = 10 people
r = 4 ( different positions)

10!
10 P4  5,040 ways
(10  4)!
b) A will serve only if he is president, how many
different choices of officers are possible?
A, __, __, __
P VP S T
9!
9 P3  504 ways
(9  3)!

COUNTING RULES 9
Permutation Rule 3:
The number of permutations of n things of which n1
are of one kind, n2 of a second kind, … nk of a kth kind
is
 n  n!
  
 n1 , n2 ,..., nk  n1!n2 !...nk !

Illustration:
How many ways you can arrange 6 identical
green balls, 6 identical red balls, and 6 identical blue balls?

 18  18!
   17,153,136ways
 n1 6G, n2 6 R, n3 6 B  6!6!6!
COUNTING RULES 10
PERMUTATION RULE 4:
The number of permutations of n distinct objects
arranged in a circle is (n – 1)!

How many ways can three persons be seated in a

round table?
A A

C B B C

n = 3 persons
(3-1)! = 2 ways

COUNTING RULES 11
 COMBINATION
Combination Rule 1:
If you have a set of n distinct objects and you select r of
them (where r  n), and you are not concern about the
order in which the objects are selected or arranged, then
each distinct group of r objects selected is a
combination. The number of possible combinations of n
distinct objects taken r at a time is given by the counting
rule: n!
n Cr 
r!(n  r )!

How many ways of getting two letters

from the letters a, b, c and d?
a ab ac 4!
b ad bc 4 C2  6 ways
c 2!(4  2)!
bd cd
d
COUNTING RULES
12
 Combination Rule 2:
The formula for computing a r-combination with repetitions from n
elements is
(n  r  1)!
( n  r  1) C r 
r!(n  1)!
How many ways of getting two letters from the letters
a, b, c and d and repetition is allowed?

a ab ac aa
b dd
c ad bc bb
d bd cd cc

(4  2  1)!
( 4  2  1) C2  10 ways
2!(4  1)!
COUNTING RULES 13
 PARTITIONING
The number of ways of partitioning a set of n objects into r cells
with n1 elements in the first cell, n2 elements in the second, so on,
is
 n  n!
  
 n1 , n2 ,..., nr  n1!n2 !..., nr !
In how many ways can 7 people be assigned to one triple and two
double rooms during a conference?

 n 7 

 n 2, n 2, n 3 
 1 2 3 
7!
 210 ways
2!2!3!

COUNTING RULES 14