Topic 18: Principle of

Counting Numbers
 Learning Objectives:
 Solve Counting problems using the Addition
Principle
 Solve Counting problems using the
Multiplication Principle
 TERMS TO REMEMBER

• Experiment – is any activity with an observable result, such

as tossing a coin, rolling a die, choosing a card, etc.
• Outcome – is a result of an experiment.

• Sample space – is the set of all possible

outcomes.
• Event – is a subset of the sample space.
What is Fundamental
Counting Principle
(FCP)?
 Fundamental Counting Principles

• A mathematical rule that allows you to find the number of ways that
a combination of events can occur.

• It is a way to figure out the number of

outcomes in a probability problem. Basically,
you multiply the events together to get the total
number of outcomes.
 Fundamental Counting Principles

Number of Number of
Number of ways
samples outcomes
  
The fundamental counting principle provides a rule
in determining the number of ways of the chance of
occurrence of events.
 
 
The fundamental counting principle
states that if there are ‘m’ ways for one
event to occur and ‘n’ ways for another,
there are m x n ways for both to occur.
Fundamental Counting Principles

• The counting principle can be extended to situations

where you have more than 2 choices.

For instance, if there are p ways to do one

thing, q ways to a second thing, and r ways
to do a third thing, then there are p x q x r
ways to do all three things.
 3 STEP PROCESS

Step 1: Determining the event.

Step 2: Determining the number of options for each event.

Step 3: Determine the total number of possible outcomes.

Methods of Counting Outcomes
1. Tree Diagram
2. Counting Principles
Tree Diagram
is making use of a diagram which is similar
to a tree with a trunk and branches
EXAMPLE : TREE DIAGRAM

A new polo shirt is released in 4 different colors and 3

different sizes. How many different color and size
combinations are available to the public?
 S
SMALL RED

MEDIUM RED
M
RED

LARGE RED
S

SMALL BLUE
SIZES: (Small, Medium, Large)

MEDIUM BLUE
M
BLUE

LARGE BLUE
COLORS: (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow)

SMALL GREEN
S
M

MEDIUM GREEN
GREEN

LARGE GREEN
S

SMALL YELLOW

MEDIUM YELLOW
M
YELLOW

LARGE YELLOW
 THE ADDITION PRINCIPLE
• According to the Addition Principle, if one event can
occur in m ways and a second event with no common
outcomes can occur in n ways, then the first or second event
can occur in m + n ways.

• It is applied when determining the total

possible outcomes of either event occurring.
 SUM RULE
Add the number of possibilities for different ways to complete
an event to obtain a total.

Example:
How many ways can a postsecondary student be
selected from a group of 120 undergraduate
students and 46 graduate students?

120 + 46 = 166
 USING THE ADDITION PRINCIPLE

Suppose a bakery has a selection of 20 different cupcakes, 10

different donuts, and 15 different muffins. If you are to select a tasty
treat, how many different choices of sweets can you choose from?

We have 20 + 10 + 15 = 45 treats to choose from

 USING THE ADDITION PRINCIPLE
There are 12 vegetarian entrée options and 5 meat entrée
options on a dinner menu. What is the total number of entrée
options?
We can add the number of vegetarian options to
the number of meat options to find the total
number of entrée options.

There are 17 total options.

 USING THE ADDITION PRINCIPLE
A student is shopping for a new computer. He is deciding
among 3 desktop computers and 6 laptop computers. What is the
total number of computer options?

We can add the number of desktop

computers to the number of laptop computers to
find the total number of computer options.

There are 9 total computer options.

 USING THE ADDITION PRINCIPLE

On Monday Jane cannot decide whether to wear a shirt or a

jumper. She has 3 shirts and 5 jumpers. How many choices does
she have on Monday?

3 + 5 = 8 choices
 THE MULTIPLICATION PRINCIPLE
• According to the Multiplication Principle, if one event can occur in m
ways and a second event can occur in n ways after the first event has
occurred, then the two events can occur in m x n ways.
This is also known as the Fundamental Counting Principle.

• It is applied when determining the total possible

outcomes of both events occurring. The word
“or” usually implies an addition problem. The
word “and” usually implies a multiplication
problem.
 PRODUCT RULE
• Multiply the number of possibilities for each part of an event to
obtain a total.
Example :
How many complete dinners can be created from a
menu with 5 appetizers, 8 entrees, and 4 desserts if a
complete dinner consists of one appetizer, one entrée,
and one dessert?

5 * 8 * 4 = 160
 USING THE MULTIPLICATION PRINCIPLE
A restaurant offers a breakfast special that includes a breakfast sandwich, a
side dish, and a beverage. There are 3 types of breakfast sandwiches, 4 side
dish options, and 5 beverage choices. Find the total number of possible
breakfast specials.
# of breakfast sandwiches x # of side dish options x # of beverages options

3 * 4 * 5 = 60
There are 60 possible breakfast specials
 Let Me Count The Ways….

Suppose you roll a 6-sided die and draw a card from a deck of 52
cards. There are 6 possible outcomes on a die, and a 52 possible
outcomes from the deck of cards. So, there are a total of

6 * 52 = 312 possible outcomes of the experiment.

 Let Me Count The Ways….
If you want to hit one note on a piano and play one string on a banjo.
How many ways can you do to hit the piano and banjo?

There are 88 notes on a piano and 5 strings on a banjo.

There are 88 * 5=440 ways to do both

 Now You Count The Ways….
A phone number is a seven digit number assigned by the phone
company. How many different seven digit phone numbers can be
assigned?

There are ten digits as possible outcomes for each

placement in a phone number.

10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10

There are 10,000,000 possible outcomes for

seven digit phone number.
 Now You Count The Ways….
How many possible outfits can you make from the clothing items listed
below?
SHIRTS PANTS SHOES

RED
WHITE
JEANS
KHAKIS
TENNIS
FLIP FLOPS
There are 12 outfit
BLACK combinations possible.

3 x 2 x 2 = 12
 Let’s try this!
The school cafeteria offers a choice of two main courses (grilled chess
sandwiches or soup of the day) and five desserts (jello, pudding, fruit cups,
sundaes, or granola bars). How many different lunches could you have?
Main Courses Main Courses
G, S j, p, f, s, b
List all possibilities:
Gj, Gp, Gf, Gs, Gb
Sj, Sp, Sf, Ss, Sb
There are 10 possible lunches.
Note: 2 x 5 = 10
More examples:
I have a ten, five and one peso coin. If I will toss it all, in
how many ways they can fall?

Solution:
STEP 1 Ten-peso Five-peso One-peso
STEP 2 2 2 2
STEP 3 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 ways
 A school plays a series of 6 soccer matches. For each
match there are 3 possibilities: a win, a draw or a loss. How
many possible results are there for the series?
Solution:

STEP 1 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH 5TH 6TH

MATCH MATCH MATCH MATCH MATCH MATCH
STEP 2 3 3 3 3 3 3
STEP 3 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 729
 
A take-away has a 4-piece lunch special which
consists of a sandwich, soup, dessert and drink for
R 25,00. They offer the following choices for:

Sandwich : chicken mayonnaise, cheese and

tomato, tuna mayonnaise,ham and lettuce
Soup : tomato, chicken noodle, vegetable
Dessert : ice-cream, piece of cake
Drink : tea, coffee, Coke, Fanta, Sprite

How many possible meals are there?

Solution:

Step 1: Determine how many parts to the meal there are

There are 4 parts: sandwich, soup, dessert and drink.

Step 2: Identify how many choices there are for each part
Meal component Sandwich Soup Dessert Drink
Number of choices 4 3 2 5

Step 3: Use the fundamental counting principle to determine how

many different meals are possible

4 × 3 × 2 × 5 =120
So there are 120 possible meals.