Combinatorics Question Bank

1.​ What is the total number of ways to distribute n distinct objects

into n distinct boxes so that the total number of objects in each
box can vary?​

2.​ How many ways are there to distribute hands of 5 cards to

each 4 players from the standard deck of 52 cards?​

3.​ Find the number of multisets of size 3 using (1, 2).​

4.​ How many ways can 5 jobs be distributed among 4 different

employees such that each employee gets at least one job?​

5.​ For n = 10, find the number of permutations such that no one is
in their own home.​

6.​ For any natural number n, there is a non-zero multiple of n

whose digits are all 0s and 1s. Prove this statement.​

7.​ Find the generating function in closed form for the sequence
{a_k}, where a_k = 3 for all k >= 0.​

8.​ How many linear orders of 6 elements a, b, c, d, e, f exist if a

comes before b?​

9.​ Find the number of solutions for the inequality a + b + c <= 8,

where a, b, c are non-negative integers.​
10.​How many 5-card hands from a standard set of playing cards
have exactly one king and one queen?​

11.​ How many ways can you distribute 14 distinct objects to 5

distinct boxes so that boxes have 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 objects?​

12.​Find the number of ways to deal a deck of 52 cards to 4 people

so that everyone gets 13 cards and the oldest player gets the
queen of spades.​

13.​Find the generating function for the sequence <1, a, a², a³, ...>.​

14.​How many bit strings of length 8 either start with 1 bit or end
with two zero bits?​

15.​Prove that C(n+1,k) = C(n,k-1) + C(n,k) using combinatorial

arguments.​

16.​How many integers in [a, b] are multiples of m?​

17.​For n = 10, find the number of permutations such that at least

one person is in their home.​

18.​During shopping, Ravi buys 12 oranges for his children. How

many ways can he distribute the oranges so that Garrit gets at
least 4 oranges, Martha and Fatima get at least 2 each, but
Fatima cannot get more than 5?​

19.​Find the number of permutations of MISSISSIPPI.​

20.​ What is the maximum number of summands in the
composition of positive integer n?​

21.​How many ways are there to distribute k votes among n

candidates if each candidate gets at least x votes?​

22.​In how many ways can we select r objects with repetition

allowed from n distinct objects? Find using generating
functions.​

23.​Find the number of onto functions for f: A → B, where |A| = m

and |B| = n.​

24.​ What is the number of ordered pairs of non-negative

numbers that should be chosen to ensure that there exists (a,
b) and (c, d) in the chosen set such that a = c mod 3 and b = d
mod 5?​

25.​ Find the total number of functions f: A → B where |A| = m and

|B| = n.​

26.​ How many ways can 8 different objects be distributed to 3

boys so that every boy gets at least 2 objects?​

27.​Prove that C(n+m,r) = C(n,0)·C(m,r) + C(n,1)·C(m,r-1) + ... +

C(n,r)·C(m,0) using combinatorial arguments, where r ≤ m, n.​

28.​ Let d be a positive integer. Show that among any group of (d

+ 1) integers (not necessarily consecutive), there are 2 with
exactly the same remainder when divided by d.​
29.​ How many 5-card hands have at least one ace OR at least
one queen?​

30.​ Find the coefficient of x¹²y¹³ in (x + y)²⁵.​

31.​How many ways are there to distribute 10 identical objects into

8 distinct boxes?​

32.​How many non-decreasing sequences of n terms exist with

elements from (1, 2, ..., m)?​

33.​ Let k be a positive integer. Prove that there exists a positive

integer n such that k divides n and the only digits in n are all
zeroes and 3s.​

34.​ How many subsets of exactly 3 elements can be chosen

from a set of n elements?​

35.​ Find the number of derangements of the string "abcd".​

36.​ What is the total number of solutions for x + y + z = 10, if x, y, z

≥ 0?​

37.​Let g(x) = 1/(1-x)² = sum from i=0 to infinity of g(i)·x^i. Find g(i).​

38.​ How many ways are there to distribute 8 identical balls into
12 different boxes?​

39.​ How many strings of length 6 over the alphabet {a, b, c} have
at least 5 consecutive 'a's?​
40.​ For n = 10, find the number of ways so that everyone is at
their own home.​

41.​For any positive integer n, (1 + x)^n = sum from r=0 to n of

C(n,r)·x^r.​

42.​ Find the number of ways to visit 8 cities starting at a specific

city but free to visit other cities in any order, where you cannot
visit the same city twice.​

43.​ Find the generating function in closed form for the sequence
{a_n} = n + 1 for n ≥ 0.​

44.​ Find the coefficient of x³ in (1 + x)³(2 + x²)¹⁰.​

45.​ Prove that C(2n,n) = sum from j=0 to n of [C(n,j)]².​

46.​ How many strings of length 6 over the alphabet {A, B, C} start
with 'c' or 'b'?​

47.​What if boxes have 2, 2, 2, 2, and 7 objects in Question 11?​

48.​ Use a committee selection argument to show that C(2n,n) =

2·C(n,2) + n².​

49.​ Find the number of bit strings of length 10 having exactly 3

zeroes.​

50.​ What is the number of ways to place two identical rooks on

an 8×8 chessboard if the rooks are the same color?​
51.​Find the number of balanced parentheses of an n-set (one set
is '(' + ')').​

52.​ How many ways can we select a first prize winner, second
prize winner, and 3rd prize winner from 100 different people who
have participated in a contest?​

53.​ In (x³ + 2y²)¹⁰, find the coefficient of 2·x²·y¹².​

54.​ Find the number of ways to split 15 identical objects into 5

different non-empty groups.​

55.​ Find the coefficient of x¹² in (x³ + x⁴ + x⁵ + ...).​

56.​ What is the formula for the nth Catalan number? (Also
provide values for n = 0 to 8.)​

57.​What is the number of ways to place two identical rooks on an

8×8 chessboard if the rooks are different colors?​

58.​ Find the sequence generated by G(x) = (2x - 3)³.​

59.​ Find the number of compositions of n into k parts.​

60.​ Find the number of full houses in a pack of playing cards?

(Hint: aaabb)​

61.​How many bit strings of length 8 start with 00 or 10?​

62.​ Find the number of palindromes of size 7. Of size 6? General
formula?​

63.​ Find the generating functions of the sequence {a_n}, where

a_n = 2n + 3 for n ≥ 0.​

64.​ How many ways are there to pack six copies of the same
book into 4 identical boxes?​

65.​ For n = 10, find the number of ways so that first 5 people are
at their own homes.​

66.​ Find a₃ - a₀ for the generating function g(n) = (1 + x)/(1 - x)³.​

67.​ A student ID is made up of 3 letters followed by two digits.

Find the total number of IDs which have an even number of 'a's.​

68.​ How many total hands of 5 cards can be made from a

standard deck of 52 cards?​

69.​ Find the generating function G(x) for the sequence a_n = n +
1 for odd n and 1 otherwise.​

70.​How many permutations of letters ABCDEFG contain the string

BCD?​

71.​For n = 10, find the number of ways so that last 5 people are in
last 5 positions and first 5 are in first 5 positions (but no one is in
their own home).​
72.​What is the total number of compositions of size n?​

73.​Find the integer solutions of c₁ + c₂ + c₃ + c₄ = 25 where all c_i ≥

0 using generating functions.​

74.​Flamingos Fanny and Freddy have three offspring: Happy, Glee,

and Joy. These five flamingos are to be distributed into seven
different zoos so that no zoo gets both parent and child. How
many ways can this be done?​

75.​For what size of set S ⊆ ℤ⁺ is it guaranteed that there exists a, b

∈ S such that a mod 8 = b mod 8?​

76.​ Find the number of derangements of a string of size n.​

77.​Find the number of ways to create a 3-digit number using 1 and

2.​

78.​ Prove that sum from r=0 to n of C(n,r) = 2ⁿ using a

committee selection argument.​

79.​ How many 6-digit integers with no leading zeroes exist

where no digit is repeated?​

80.​ Find the minimum number of students required in a class to

guarantee that 3 of them are born in the same month.​

81.​How many ways are there to distribute 30 identical objects into

3 distinct boxes so that each box has at least 5 objects?​
82.​ Find the number of permutations of SUCCESS.​

83.​ How many 4-digit even numbers without repetition contain a

zero at the end?​

84.​ Find the number of ways to split a group of n people into two
teams.​

85.​ How many ways can 3 types of fruits be purchased if 4 fruits

must be bought in total?​

86.​ How many bit strings of length 10 have more zeroes than
ones?​

87.​ What is the sum of the first n binomial coefficients?​

88.​ Find the number of bit strings of length 8 starting with either
00 or 000.​

89.​ Any positive integer n has a non-zero multiple that can be

written purely using 5s and 0s. Prove this statement.​

90.​ Each user on a computer system has a password of six to

eight characters, where each character is an uppercase letter
or a digit. Each password must contain at least one digit. How
many possible passwords exist?​

91.​Find the number of bit strings of length 8 which either begin

with 00 or end with 101.​
92.​ Find the total number of solutions for a + b + c = 10 if a ≥ 1, b ≥
2, c ≥ 3.​

93.​ Prove that C(n,k) = C(n-2,k-2) + C(n-1,k) + C(n-1,k-1).​

94.​ How many permutations of letters ABCDEFG contain the

strings BA and GF?​

95.​ How many ways are there to distribute 12 friends into groups
of sizes (2, 2, 2, 3, 3)?​

96.​ How many bit strings of length 10 have at least 7 ones?​

97.​ How many bit strings of length 7 start with 00 or 101?​

98.​ How many positive integers not exceeding 1000 are divisible
by 7 or 11?​

99.​ How many permutations of letters ABCDEFG contain the

strings ABC and DE?​

100.​ Find the number of partitions of n = 7.

101. Find the number of permutations of letters ABCDEFG

containing the strings CBA and BED.

102. A traveling salesman wants to visit all 50 states. How many

ways can he do that? (He cannot repeat a visit.)

103. Count the number of ways of picking 2 cards one after

another from which there is at least one ace.

104. Find the number of onto functions for $f: {1, 2, 3} \rightarrow

{a, b}$.

105. Suppose there are 9 math faculty and 11 CSE faculty. Count

the number of ways to select a committee to develop a

Discrete Math course if it consists of 3 Math and 4 CSE faculty.

106. Find the number of derangements of "aab".

107. In a lineup of 7 people (mother, father, 3 sons, 2 daughters),

how many lineups are there in which the mother is next to at

least one of her sons?

108. At a party with at least two people, people go around

shaking hands with one another (though it is not necessary that

everybody shakes hands with everyone else). Prove that there

are at least two people present who shook hands with exactly

the same number of people.

109. Find the number of $k$-letter English palindrome words.

110. There are 6 jobs with distinct difficulty levels and 3

computers with distinct processing speeds. In how many ways

can jobs be assigned to computers such that the fastest

computer gets the hardest job and the slowest gets the
 easiest? (Each computer must get at least one job.)

111. Find the number of integers between $[1, 100]$ which are

neither multiple of 2 nor 9.

112. How many 6-digit integers with no leading zeroes exist

where digits may be repeated?

113. How many 6-digit integers with no leading zeroes exist

where no digit may repeat and the number is even?

114. How many 6-digit integers with no leading zeroes exist

where digits may repeat and the number is even?

115. How many 6-digit integers with no leading zeroes exist

where digits may repeat and the number is divisible by 5?

116. Find the sequence for the generating function $G(n) = x^2$.​

ANSWER KEY:

1.​ n^n​

2.​ C(52,13) × C(39,13) × C(26,13) × C(13,13) = 52!/(13! × 13! × 13! × 13!)​

3.​ C(3+2-1,3) = C(4,3) = 4​

4.​ S(5,4) × 4! = 10 × 24 = 240​

5.​ D₁₀ = 10! × (1 - 1/1! + 1/2! - 1/3! + ... + 1/10!) = 1,334,961​

6.​ Proof: Let n be any natural number. Consider the numbers 1, 11,
111, ... (with k ones). By the pigeonhole principle, at least two of
the n+1 numbers 1, 11, 111, ..., 11...1 (with n+1 ones) must give the
same remainder when divided by n. Let these be 11...1 (with i
ones) and 11...1 (with j ones) where i < j. Then their difference 11...1
(with j-i ones followed by i zeros) is divisible by n. This number
consists only of 0s and 1s and is a multiple of n.​

7.​ G(x) = 3/(1-x)​

8.​ 6!/2 = 360​

9.​ C(8+3,3) = C(11,3) = 165​

10.​C(4,1) × C(4,1) × C(44,3) = 4 × 4 × 13,244 = 211,904​

11.​ 14!/(1! × 2! × 3! × 4! × 5!) = 27,567,600​

12.​C(51,12) × C(39,13) × C(26,13) = 123,344,133,546,342,400​

13.​G(x) = 1/(1-ax)​

14.​(2⁷ - 2⁶) + 2⁶ - 2⁴ = 192​

15.​Proof: Consider a set of n+1 elements. To choose k elements, we

can either:​

●​ Include a specific element x and choose k-1 elements from the

remaining n elements: C(n,k-1) ways
●​ Exclude element x and choose all k elements from the
remaining n elements: C(n,k) ways Total ways: C(n,k-1) + C(n,k)
= C(n+1,k)
16.​⌊b/m⌋ - ⌊(a-1)/m⌋​

17.​10! - D₁₀ = 10! - 10!(1 - 1/1! + 1/2! - 1/3! + ... + 1/10!) = 3,268,599​

18.​C(12-4-2-2+3-1,3-1) = C(6,2) = 15​

19.​11!/(1!×4!×4!×2!) = 34,650​

20.​ n​

21.​C(k-nx+n-1,n-1)​

22.​C(n+r-1,r)​

23.​Sum from i=0 to n of (-1)^i × C(n,i) × (n-i)^m​

24.​ 3 × 5 + 1 = 16 ordered pairs​

25.​ n^m​

26.​ C(8,2) × C(6,2) × C(4,2) = 28 × 15 × 6 = 2,520​

27.​Proof: To select r elements from a combined set of n+m

elements, we can choose i elements from the first set of n
elements, and r-i elements from the second set of m elements,
where i ranges from 0 to r. The number of ways to do this is
C(n,i) × C(m,r-i). Summing over all possible values of i gives
 Sum from i=0 to r of C(n,i) × C(m,r-i) = C(n+m,r).​

28.​ Proof: By the pigeonhole principle, if we have d+1 integers,

then since there are only d possible remainders when dividing
by d (0 to d-1), at least two of the integers must give the same
remainder when divided by d.​

29.​ C(4,1) × C(48,4) + C(4,1) × C(48,4) - C(4,1) × C(4,1) × C(44,3) =

778,320​

30.​ C(25,12) = 5,200,300​

31.​C(10+8-1,8-1) = C(17,7) = 19,448​

32.​C(n+m-1,n)​

33.​ Proof: Consider the k numbers: 3, 30, 33, 300, 303, 330, 333, ...
(containing only 0s and 3s). By the pigeonhole principle, at least
two of these k+1 numbers must give the same remainder when
divided by k. Their difference is divisible by k and contains only
0s and 3s.​

34.​ C(n,3)​

35.​ D₄ = 4! × (1 - 1/1! + 1/2! - 1/3! + 1/4!) = 9​

36.​ C(10+3-1,3-1) = C(12,2) = 66​

37.​g(i) = i+1 for i ≥ 0​

38.​ C(8+12-1,12-1) = C(19,11) = 75,582​

39.​ 2 × 3¹ + 1 × 3⁰ = 7​

40.​ 1​

41.​Binomial Theorem (standard result)​

42.​ (8-1)! = 7! = 5,040​

43.​ G(x) = 1/(1-x)²​

44.​ C(3,3) × C(10,0) × 2¹⁰ + C(3,1) × C(10,1) × 2⁹ = 1,024 + 3 × 10 × 512

= 16,384​

45.​ Proof: Both sides count the number of ways to select a

subset of size n from a set of size 2n. The left side counts this
directly. The right side counts it by considering the size j of the
intersection with the first n elements, which must be
complemented by n-j elements from the second n elements.​

46.​ 3⁵ + 3⁵ - 3⁴ = 2 × 3⁵ - 3⁴ = 2 × 243 - 81 = 486 - 81 = 405​

47.​14!/(2! × 2! × 2! × 2! × 7!) = 90,810​

48.​ Proof: Consider selecting n elements from a set of 2n

elements. This can be done in C(2n,n) ways. Alternatively, we
can select based on pairs: either select both elements of a pair
(C(n,2) ways, and multiplied by 2 since we need n elements
total), or select one element from each pair (n² ways). Thus,
 C(2n,n) = 2 × C(n,2) + n².​

49.​ C(10,3) = 120​

50.​ C(64,2) = 2,016​

51.​C_n = 1/(n+1) × C(2n,n)​

52.​ P(100, 3) = 100 × 99 × 98 = 970,200​

53.​ C(10,1) × 3¹ × C(10,6) × (2)⁶ × 1 = 10 × 3 × 210 × 64 = 403,200​

54.​ C(15-1,5-1) = C(14,4) = 1,001​

55.​ C(12-3,9-3) = C(9,6) = 84​

56.​ C_n = 1/(n+1) × C(2n,n). Values: C₀ = 1, C₁ = 1, C₂ = 2, C₃ = 5, C₄

= 14, C₅ = 42, C₆ = 132, C₇ = 429, C₈ = 1,430​

57.​C(64,1) × C(63,1) = 64 × 63 = 4,032​

58.​ a_n = 8 when n = 3, otherwise a_n = 0​

59.​ C(n-1,k-1)​

60.​ C(13,1) × C(4,3) × C(12,1) × C(4,2) = 13 × 4 × 12 × 6 = 3,744​

61.​2⁶ + 2⁶ - 2⁵ = 64 + 64 - 32 = 96​
62.​ Size 7: 5 × 26³ = 5 × 17,576 = 87,880 Size 6: 26³ = 17,576
General: 26^⌈n/2⌉​

63.​ G(x) = 3/(1-x) + 2x/(1-x)²​

64.​ p(6,4) = 9​

65.​ 5! = 120​

66.​ a₃ - a₀ = 10 - 1 = 9​

67.​ 26³ × 100 - C(3,1) × 25² × 100 + C(3,3) × 25⁰ × 100 = 17,576,000 -
1,875,000 + 100 = 15,701,100​

68.​ C(52,5) = 2,598,960​

69.​ G(x) = 1/(1-x²) + x²/(1-x²)²​

70.​5! = 120​

71.​D₅ = 5! × (1 - 1/1! + 1/2! - 1/3! + 1/4! - 1/5!) = 44​

72.​2^(n-1)​

73.​[x²⁵]1/(1-x)⁴ = C(25+4-1,4-1) = C(28,3) = 3,276​

74.​7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 - 2 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 + 1 × 7 × 6 × 5 = 2,520 - 1,680 +

210 = 1,050​
75.​9 (by pigeonhole principle, since there are only 8 possible
remainders)​

76.​ D_n = n! × (1 - 1/1! + 1/2! - 1/3! + ... + (-1)^n × 1/n!)​

77.​2³ = 8​

78.​ Proof: Consider selecting a committee from n people. Each

person can either be included or excluded, giving 2^n total
possibilities. Alternatively, we can count by committee size:
there are C(n,r) ways to form a committee of size r. Summing
over all possible sizes gives Sum from r=0 to n of C(n,r) = 2^n.​

79.​ 9 × 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 = 136,080​

80.​ 25 (by pigeonhole principle, since there are only 12 months)​

81.​C(30-15+3-1,3-1) = C(17,2) = 136​

82.​ 7!/(3!×2!×1!×1!) = 420​

83.​ 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 × 1 = 3,024​

84.​ 2^(n-1) - 1​

85.​ C(4+3-1,3-1) = C(6,2) = 15​

86.​ Sum from i=6 to 10 of C(10,i) = 386​

87.​ C(n+1,1) - 1 = n​
88.​ 2⁶ + 2⁵ - 2⁵ = 2⁶ = 64​

89.​ Proof: Consider the numbers 5, 55, 555, ... (with k fives). By the
pigeonhole principle, at least two of the n+1 numbers 5, 55, 555,
..., 55...5 (with n+1 fives) must give the same remainder when
divided by n. Their difference is divisible by n and consists only
of 5s followed by 0s.​

90.​ (26 + 10)⁶ + (26 + 10)⁷ + (26 + 10)⁸ - 26⁶ - 26⁷ - 26⁸ =
2,941,499,932,640​

91.​2⁶ + 2⁵ - 2³ = 64 + 32 - 8 = 88​

92.​ C(10-1-2-3+3-1,3-1) = C(6,2) = 15​

93.​ Proof: Consider selecting k elements from an n-element set.

Let's categorize based on the inclusion of two specific elements
a and b:​

○​ Both a and b are included: C(n-2,k-2) ways

○​ Only a is included: C(n-2,k-1) ways
○​ Only b is included: C(n-2,k-1) ways
○​ Neither a nor b is included: C(n-2,k) ways Total: C(n-2,k-2)
+ C(n-2,k-1) + C(n-2,k-1) + C(n-2,k) = C(n-2,k-2) +
2×C(n-2,k-1) + C(n-2,k) = C(n-2,k-2) + C(n-1,k) +
C(n-1,k-1)
94.​ 5! = 120​

95.​ 12!/((2!)³ × (3!)² × 3! × 2!) = 27,720​

96.​ Sum from i=7 to 10 of C(10,i) = 120 + 45 + 10 + 1 = 176​

97.​ 2⁵ + 2⁴ - 2² = 32 + 16 - 4 = 44​

98.​ ⌊1000/7⌋ + ⌊1000/11⌋ - ⌊1000/77⌋ = 142 + 90 - 12 = 220​

99.​ 4! = 24​

100.​ 15​

101.​ 3! = 6​

102.​ 49!​

103.​ 4 × 51 + 48 × 4 - 4 × 3 = 204 + 192 - 12 = 384​

104.​ 1​

105.​ C(9,3) × C(11,4) = 84 × 330 = 27,720​

106.​ 0​

107.​ 7! - 5! × C(5,2) = 5,040 - 120 × 10 = 5,040 - 1,200 = 3,840​

108.​ Proof: Let S = {a₁, a₂, ..., a_n} be the set of people at the party.
For each person a_i, let d_i be the number of hands they shook.
The sum Sum from i=1 to n of d_i must be even (as each
handshake is counted twice). If all d_i were distinct, then {d₁, d₂,
..., d_n} = {0, 1, 2, ..., n-1}. But then Sum from i=1 to n of d_i =
n(n-1)/2, which is the maximum possible number of
handshakes. This contradicts the fact that not everyone shakes
 hands with everyone else. Therefore, at least two people must
have shaken hands with the same number of people.​

109.​ 26^⌈k/2⌉​

110.​ S(6,3) = 90​

111.​100 - ⌈100/2⌉ - ⌈100/9⌉ + ⌈100/18⌉ = 100 - 50 - 12 + 6 = 44​

112.​ 10 × 10⁵ = 1,000,000​

113.​ 9 × 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 1/2 = 68,040​

114.​ 9 × 10⁵ × 1/2 = 450,000​

115.​ 9 × 10⁵ × 1/5 = 180,000​

116.​ a_n = 1 if n = 2, otherwise a_n = 0​