ACS IBA QUANTITATIVE

Permutation
A permutation is a way of arranging all the members of a set into a specific sequence or
order. If the set is already ordered, then changing the order of its elements is called
permuting.

Explanation:

Imagine you have a small collection of items, like three different-colored marbles: red, blue,
and green. A permutation is simply a way of arranging these marbles in different orders. Each
unique arrangement is a permutation.

Example:

Let's say we have three marbles: Red (R), Blue (B), and Green (G). Here are all the possible
ways to arrange these marbles:

1. Red, Blue, Green (RBG)

2. Red, Green, Blue (RGB)
3. Blue, Red, Green (BRG)
4. Blue, Green, Red (BGR)
5. Green, Red, Blue (GRB)
6. Green, Blue, Red (GBR)

Each of these different arrangements is a permutation of the three marbles.

Why Permutations are Important:

Permutations are everywhere in math and real life. Here are a few examples:

● Lock Combinations: When you set a lock, the order of the numbers matters. 1234 is
different from 4321.
● Seating Arrangements: If you have 5 friends and want to figure out how many ways
you can seat them in a row, you are dealing with permutations.
● Competition Rankings: In races or competitions, the order in which participants finish
(1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) is a permutation of the participants.

How to Calculate Permutations:

The number of ways to arrange a set of items can be calculated using a formula involving
factorials.

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Factorial Notation (!):

The factorial of a number n, written as n!!, is the product of all positive integers up to
n.

Example: 4!=4×3×2×1=24

Permutation Formula:

The number of ways to choose “r” items from a set of “n” items can be calculated using a
formula that involves factorials.

Combination Formula:

(nPr)=n! / (n−r)!

Where:

● n! (n factorial) is the product of all positive integers up to n.

● (n−r)! is the product of all positive integers up to (n−r)

Example:

Our of three marbles (A,B,C) if we want to pick 2 marbles and arrange them, the number of
permutations is :

(3C2) = 3! / (3−2)! = 6

So, there are 6 different ways to arrange 2 marbles from the set of three marbles.

Combination
A combination is a way of selecting items from a larger set such that the order in which the
items are chosen does not matter. Unlike permutations, where the sequence is important,
combinations only care about which items are selected, not the order in which they are
chosen.

Simplified Explanation:
Imagine you have a set of items, like four different fruits: apple, banana, cherry, and date. A
combination is simply a way of picking a certain number of these fruits without worrying about
the order in which you pick them.

Example:

Let's say you want to pick 2 fruits from the set of 4 fruits (apple, banana, cherry, and date).
Here are all the possible combinations of 2 fruits:

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1. Apple and Banana

2. Apple and Cherry
3. Apple and Date
4. Banana and Cherry
5. Banana and Date
6. Cherry and Date

Each of these pairs is a combination of the 4 fruits taken 2 at a time.

Why Combinations are Important:

Combinations are useful in many real-life situations where the order of selection doesn't
matter. Here are a few examples:

● Committee Selection: If you are choosing members for a committee from a larger
group, the order in which they are selected does not matter.
● Handshakes: When two people shake hands, it doesn't matter who reaches out first;
the handshake is the same.

How to Calculate Combinations:

The number of ways to choose “r” items from a set of “n” items can be calculated using a
formula that involves factorials.

Combination Formula:

(nCr)=n! / r!(n−r)!

Where:

● n! (n factorial) is the product of all positive integers up to n.

● r! (r factorial) is the product of all positive integers up to r.
● (n−r)! is the product of all positive integers up to (n−r)

Example:

For our 4 fruits (apple, banana, cherry, and date), if we want to pick 2, the number of
combinations is:

(4C2)=4!/2!(4−2)!=6

So, there are 6 different ways to choose 2 fruits out of 4.

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Key Points:
● Order Doesn't Matter: In combinations, the order in which items are selected does
not matter.
● Unique Selections: Each different selection of items is a unique combination.
● Factorials: The number of combinations of a set is calculated using factorials in the
combination formula.

Difference between Permutation and Combination

Feature Permutation Combination

Arrangement of objects in a Selection of objects without regard to

Definition
specific order order

Order Important Not important

Formula nPr = n! / (n-r)! nCr = n! / [r! (n-r)!]

Arranging people in a line, Selecting a team from a group of

Example
creating passwords people, choosing items from a menu

Notation P(n, r) or nPr C(n, r) or nCr

For a given n and r, nPr is nCr is the number of permutations

Relationship
always greater than nCr divided by r!

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Past Year Questions

1. How many different five letter words can be formed using the letters from the word
APPLE? [IBA MBA 07-08]
A. 24 B.60 C.120 D.240 E.None of these
2. There are six different models that are to appear in a fashion show. Two are from
Europe, two are from South America, and two are from North America. If all the models
from the same continent are to stand next to each other, how many ways can the
fashion show organizer arrange the models? [IBA BBA 13-14]
A. 72 B. 48 C. 64 D. 24 E. 8
3. How many different 3 digit numbers can be formed such that 1st and 3rd place is filled
with odd numbers? [IBA BBA 17-18]
A. 400 B.250 C.150 D.120 E.None of these

Answers of Past Year Questions

1. B 2. B 3. B

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Solution To Past Year Questions

1. We have 5 letters: A, P, P, L, E. We need to find how many different 5-letter words we can
make using these letters.
Here, We have repeated letters (two P's), which will affect the number of possible
arrangements.
𝒏!
𝑷 =
𝒓𝟏! × 𝒓𝟐! × . . .× 𝒓𝒌!
In our case,
n = 5 (total letters)
r1 = 2 (number of P's)
So, the number of different five-letter words is:
5! 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
𝑃 = = = 60
2! 2 × 1

Therefore, there are 60 different five-letter words that can be formed using the letters from
the word APPLE.

So, option (B) is the correct answer.

2. We have 6 models: 2 from Europe, 2 from South America, and 2 from North America. Models
from the same continent must stand together. We need to find a number of ways to arrange
these groups of models.
Now, there are multiple steps of solving this problem.
Arrange the groups of models:
There are 3 groups: Europe, South America, and North America.

There are 3! ways to arrange these groups.

Arrange models within each group:

There are 2 models in each group.

There are 2! ways to arrange the models within each group.

Total number of arrangements:

Multiply the number of arrangements for groups and within groups:

Total arrangements = 3! × 2! × 2! × 2!

Total arrangements = 6 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 48

Therefore, there are 48 ways to arrange the models.

So, option (B) is the correct answer.

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3. We need a 3-digit number. The first and third digits must be odd.

For the first digit: There are 5 odd digits: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9.

So, there are 5 options for the first digit.

For the second digit: There are no restrictions for the second digit, so it can be any digit
from 0 to 9.

There are 10 options for the second digit.

For the third digit: Similar to the first digit, there are 5 options for the third digit (any of the
odd numbers).

To find the total number of combinations, we multiply the number of options for each digit:

Total combinations = Options for first digit × Options for second digit × Options for third digit

Total combinations = 5 × 10 × 5 = 250

So, option (B) is the correct answer.

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Practice Problems
1. How many possible combinations can a 3-digit safe code have?
A. 9C3 B. 9 P3 C. 39 D. 93 E. 10^3
2. Goodwin has 3 different colored pants and 2 different colored shirts. In how many
ways can he choose a pair of pants and a shirt?
A. 2 B. 3 C. 5 D. 6 E. 12
3. There are 3 doors to a lecture room. In how many ways can a lecturer enter and leave
the room?
A. 1 B. 3 C. 6 D. 9 E. 12
4. A basketball team has 11 players on its roster. Only 5 players can be on the court at
one time. How many different groups of 5 players can the team put on the floor?
A. 5^11 B. 11C5 C. 11P5 D. 11 E. 11!×5!
5. A menu offers 2 entrees, 3 main courses, and 3 desserts. How many different
combinations of dinner can be made? (A dinner must contain an entrée, a main course,
and a dessert.)
A.12 B. 15 C. 18 D. 21 E. 24
6. Sauda has 5 roses and 2 jasmines. A bouquet of 3 flowers is to be formed. In how many
ways can it be formed if at least one jasmine must be in the bouquet?
A. 5 B. 20 C. 25 D. 35 E. 40
7. In how many ways can a committee of 5 members be formed from 4 women and 6 men
such that at least 1 woman is a member of the committee?
A. 112 B. 156 C. 208 D. 246 E. 252
8. Six members of a school’s varsity swimming team will march in a parade. How many
different ways can the players be lined up if Beluga, the team captain, is always at the
front of the line?
A. 119 B.120 C. 720 D.125 E.None of these
9. A company has 12 employees. To plan a company event, they need to form a
committee of 5 people. How many different committees can be formed if two specific
employees, Alam and Fahad, must be on the committee?
A. 120 B. 7920 C. 9240 D. 330 E. None of these
10. In how many ways can 4 boys and 4 girls be arranged in a row such that no two boys
and no two girls are next to each other?
A. 1032 B. 1152 C. 1254 D. 1432 E. 1564

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11. A restaurant offers a dinner special where customers can choose 3 appetizers from a
list of 8, 2 main courses from a list of 5, and 1 dessert from a list of 6. How many
different dinner specials are possible?
A. 1680 B. 3360 C. 5040 D. 6720 E. None of these
12. A password must consist of 8 characters. The first character must be a letter (either
uppercase or lowercase), followed by 3 digits, then 4 letters (again, either uppercase
or lowercase). How many different passwords are possible?
A. 26 × 10^3 × 26^4 B. 52 × 10^3 × 52^4 C. 52^8 D. 10^8 E. None of these
13. At a tennis tournament, there are 8 players. If every player plays one match against
every other player, how many matches will be played in total?
A. 56 B. 36 C. 28 D. 14 E. None of these
14. There are 5 people in a room. How many handshakes will occur if everyone shakes
hands with everyone else exactly once?
A.120 B.25 C.10 D.5 E.None of these

Answers of Past Year Questions

1. E 2. D 3. D 4. B 5. C 6.C 7. D
8. B 9. A 10. B 11. B 12. B 13. C 14. C

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Solution To Practice Problems

1. A safe code can be made of any of the numbers {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}. No two objects
in the set are indistinguishable. Hence, the base set does not have any indistinguishable
objects. Repetitions of numbers in the safe code are possible. For example, 334 is a possible
safe code.

Hence, the problem is a permutation, with repetition and no indistinguishable objects.

Thus, use Formula, 𝑛𝑟 [here, n = 10, r = 3]. The number of codes is 10^3 = 1000.

Safe codes allow 0 to be first digit. Here, the same arrangement rules apply to each of the 3
digits. So, this is a uniform arrangement problem. We can use any formula or model here.
So, option (E) is the correct answer.

2. Given,

Number of pants: 3
Number of shirts: 2
To find the total number of possible combinations, we multiply these numbers together:
Total combinations = Number of pants × Number of shirts
=3×2=6

So, mathematically, we can see that Goodwin has 6 different ways to choose a pair of pants
and a shirt.

This principle can be extended to any number of items. If Goodwin had x number of pants
and y number of shirts, the total combinations would be x multiplied by y.

So, option (D) is the correct answer.

3. There are three doors, and the lecturer needs to enter and leave.
The lecturer has three ways to enter the room (Door 1, Door 2, or Door 3).
After entering, the lecturer still has three options for leaving (it could be the same door or a
different one).
To find the total number of ways to enter and leave, we multiply the number of options for
each step:
Total ways = Number of ways to enter × Number of ways to leave

=3×3=9

So, option (D) is the correct answer.

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4. We can solve this problem by using the combination formula, which is given by:

𝑛!
𝑛𝐶𝑟 =
𝑟! . (𝑛 − 𝑟)!

Now, we need to select a team of 5 members from a total of 11 members. Hence, n=11 and
r=5.

So, answer will be 11C5

So, option (B) is the correct answer.

5. Given,

We have 3 choices to make: entree, main course, and dessert.

There are 2 options for entrees, 3 for main courses, and 3 for desserts.

To find the total number of combinations, we multiply the number of options for each choice:

Total combinations = Number of entrees × Number of main courses × Number of desserts

= 2 × 3 × 3 = 18

Therefore, there are 18 different dinner combinations.

So, option (C) is the correct answer.

6. Given, Sauda has 5 roses and 2 jasmines. She needs to make a bouquet of 3 flowers with at
least 1 jasmine.

Since we know there must be at least one jasmine in the bouquet, we can break down the
problem into two cases:

Case 1: One jasmine and two roses

Choose 1 jasmine from 2: This can be done in (2C1) ways.
Choose 2 roses from 5: This can be done in (5C2) ways.
Total ways for Case 1: (2C1) × (5C2) = 2 × 10 = 20
Case 2: Two jasmines and one rose
Choose 2 jasmines from 2: This can be done in (2C2) = 1 way.
Choose 1 rose from 5: This can be done in (5C1) = 5 ways.
Total ways for Case 2: (2C2) × (5C1) = 1 × 5 = 5

Therefore, there are 20+5= 25 ways to form a bouquet with at least one jasmine.

So, option (C) is the correct answer.

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7. We need to form a committee of 5 people. There are 4 women and 6 men. At least 1 woman
must be on the committee.

Instead of directly counting the committees with at least one woman, it's easier to count the
total number of possible committees and then subtract the number of committees with no
women.

This is a combination problem.

Total number of possible committees:

We choose 5 people from a total of 10 (4 women + 6 men).

Number of ways = (10C5) = 10! / (5! × 5!) = 252

Number of committees with no women:

If there are no women, we choose all 5 members from the 6 men.

Number of ways = (6C5) = 6

Number of committees with at least 1 woman:

Subtract the committees with no women from the total number of committees:

Number of ways = 252 - 6 = 246

There are 246 ways to form a committee of 5 members with at least 1 woman.

So the answer is (D) 24

8. Given There are 6 swimmers and Beluga, the captain must be first.

We need to find a number of ways to arrange the remaining 5 swimmers. This is a

permutation problem.

Since Beluga's position is fixed, we only need to consider the arrangements of the other 5
swimmers.

The number of ways to arrange 5 swimmers is 5!

= 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120

Therefore, there are 120 different ways to line up the swimmers with Beluga at the
front.

So, option (B) is the correct answer.

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9. We need a committee of 5 people. Alam and Fahad must be on the committee.

This means we only need to choose 3 more people from the remaining 10 employees. This
is a combination problem.

The formula for combination is:

𝑛!
𝑛𝐶𝑟 =
𝑟! (𝑛 − 𝑟)!

Where:

n is the total number of items (in this case, 10 employees)

r is the number of items to choose (in this case, 3 people)

So, the number of ways to choose 3 people from 10 is:

10!
10𝐶3 = = 120
3! × (10 − 3)!

So, option (A) is the correct answer.

10. Since no two boys or girls can be adjacent, the arrangement must alternate between boys
and girls.

There are two possible alternating patterns:

1. Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl

2. Girl, Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl, Boy

Now, the 4 boys can be arranged in 4! Ways. and the 4 girls can also be arranged in 4! Ways.

For each pattern, the total number of arrangements is: 4!×4!=24×24=576

Since there are two possible patterns (BGBGBGBG and GBGBGBGB), the total number of
arrangements is: 2×576=1152

So, option (B) is the correct answer.

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11. We need to calculate the number of ways to choose 3 appetizers from 8, 2 main courses from
5, and 1 dessert from 6. This is a combination problem.

Appetizers: 8C3 ways

Main courses: 5C2 ways

Desserts: 6C1 ways

Total ways = 8C3 × 5C2 × 6C1

8! 5! 6!
= + +
3! × 5! 2! × 3! 1! × 5!

= 56 × 10 × 6 = 3360.

So, option (B) is the correct answer.

12. Given requirements:

1. First character: Must be a letter (either uppercase or lowercase).

2. Next three characters: Must be digits.
3. Last four characters: Must be letters (either uppercase or lowercase).

Now,
First character (letter): There are 26 uppercase letters and 26 lowercase letters, so the
total number of choices for the first character is: 52 choices

Next three characters (digits): Each digit can be any of the 10 digits (0 through 9), so the
number of choices for each digit is 10. Since there are 3 digits:
10×10×10= 103

Last four characters (letters): Each of these characters can also be any of the 52 letters
(26 uppercase + 26 lowercase), so the number of choices for each of the four letters is:
52×52×52×52=524 choices

The total number of different possible passwords is the product of the number of
choices for each part: 𝟓𝟐 × 𝟏𝟎𝟑 × 𝟓𝟐𝟒

So, option (B) is the correct answer.

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13. Each player plays a match against 7 other players. So, initially, we might think there are 8 ×
7 = 56 matches.

However, this counts each match twice (e.g., player A playing player B is the same as player
B playing player A).

To correct for this overcounting, we divide by 2.

So, the total number of matches is (8 × 7) / 2 = 28 matches.

So, option (C) is the correct answer.

14. The formula for determining the total number of handshakes in a group of n people, where
each person shakes hands with every other person exactly once, is:

𝒏(𝒏−𝟏)
Total Handshakes=
𝟐

Here, n is the number of people= 5

𝑛(𝑛−1) 5−1
So, Total Handshakes= = 5× = 10 handshakes
2 2

So, option (C) is the correct answer.

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