Permutation & Combination

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 Problem!!!

Many counting problems can be solved by finding the number of ways to

arrange a specified number of distinct elements of a set of a particular
size, where the order of these elements matters.
Many other counting problems can be solved by finding the number of
ways to select a particular number of elements from a set of a particular
size, where the order of the elements selected does not matter.

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• For example, in how many ways can we select three students from
a group of five students to stand in line for a picture?
• How many different committees of three students can be formed
from a group of four students?

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 Permutations

Theorem
Any arrangement of a set of n objects in a given order is called a permutation of the
object (taken all at a time).

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 Permutations

Theorem
Any arrangement of a set of n objects in a given order is called a permutation of the
object (taken all at a time).

In how many ways can we arrange three letter A, B, C without repetition?

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 Permutations

Theorem
Any arrangement of a set of n objects in a given order is called a permutation of the
object (taken all at a time).

In how many ways can we arrange three letter A, B, C without repetition?

Corollary
There are n! permutations of n objects (taken all at a time).

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 r-permutation

Theorem
Any arrangement of any r ≤ n of n objects in a given order is called an “r-permutation” or
“a permutation of the r objects taken at a time.”

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 r-permutation

Theorem
Any arrangement of any r ≤ n of n objects in a given order is called an “r-permutation” or
“a permutation of n objects taken r at a time.”

The number of permutations of n objects taken r at a time will be denoted by

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 r-permutation
• In how many ways can we select three students from a group of five students to stand in
line for a picture?
• In how many ways can we select four students from a group of five students to stand in
line for a picture

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 r-permutation

Theorem

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P (n, r) = n(n−1)(n−2)···(n−r+1)
Proof
We will use the product rule to prove that this formula is correct. The first element of
the permutation can be chosen in n ways because there are n elements in the set. There
are n−1 ways to choose the second element of the permutation, because there are n−1
elements left in the set after using the element picked for the first position. Similarly,
there are n−2 ways to choose the third element, and so on, until there are exactly n−
(r−1)=n−r+1 ways to choose the rth element. Consequently, by the product rule, there are
n(n−1)(n−2)···(n−r+1) r-permutations of the set.

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 r-permutation : Example

Problem: How many ways are there to select a first-prize winner, a second-prize
winner, and a third-prize winner from 100 different people who have entered a
contest?
Solve: Because it matters which person wins which prize, the number of ways to pick the
three prize winners is the number of ordered selections of three elements from a set of
100 elements, that is, the number of 3-permutations of a set of 100 elements.
Consequently, the answer is
P(100,3) = 100·99·98 = 970,200.

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 r-permutation : Example
Problem: Suppose that there are eight runners in a race. The winner receives a gold medal, the
second place finisher receives a silver medal, and the third-place finisher receives a bronze medal.
How many different ways are there to award these medals, if all possible outcomes of the race can
occur and there are no ties?

Solve: The number of different ways to award the medals is the number of 3-
permutations of a set with eight elements. Hence, there are
P(8,3) = 8·7·6 = 336 possible ways to award the medals.

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 r-permutation : Example
Problem: Suppose that a saleswoman has to visit eight different cities. She must begin
her trip in a specified city, but she can visit the other seven cities in any order she
wishes. How many possible orders can the saleswoman use when visiting these cities?

Solve: The number of possible paths between the cities is the number of permutations
of seven elements, because the first city is determined, but the remaining seven can be
ordered arbitrarily.
Consequently, there are 7! = 7·6·5 · 4·3·2· 1 = 5040 ways
for the saleswoman to choose her tour

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 r-permutation : Example

Problem: How many permutations of the letters ABCDEFGH contain the string
ABC?

Solve: Because the letters ABC must occur as a block, we can find the answer by finding
the number of permutations of six objects, namely, the block ABC and the individual
letters D, E, F, G, and H. Because these six objects can occur in any order, there are 6!
=720 permutations of the letters ABCDEFGH in which ABC occurs as a block.

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 r-permutation : Example

Problem: How many ways are there for eight men and five women to stand in a line so
that no two women stand next to each other? [Hint: First position the men and then
consider possible positions for the women.]
Solve: ?

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 R-COMBINATION

 An r-combination of elements of a set is an unordered selection of r

elements from the set

 An r-combination is simply a subset of the set with r elements

 n
 Denote by C(n,r). Note that C(n,r) is also denoted by and isr called a
 
binomial coefficient

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 EXAMPLE

 Let S be the set {1, 2, 3, 4}. Then {1, 3, 4} is a 3-

combination from S

 We see that C(4,2)=6, as the 2-combination of {a, b, c, d}

are 6 subsets {a, b}, {a, c}, {a, d}, {b, c}, {b, d}, and {c,
d}

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 R-COMBINATION

 The number of r-combinations of a set with n elements, where n is a

nonnegative integer and r is an integer with 0≤r≤n equals
n!
C (n, r ) 
r!(n  r )!
 Proof: The r-permutations of the set can be obtained by forming the C(n,r) r-
combinations and then ordering the elements in each r-permutation which
can be done in P(r,r) ways

P(n, r ) C (n, r ) P(r , r )

P(n, r ) n! /( n  r )! n!
C (n, r )   
P (r , r ) r! /( r  r )! r!(n  r )!

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 R-COMBINATION : EXAMPLE
Problem: Find the number of combinations of 4 objects
A,B,C,D, taken 3 at a time.

Solve:

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 COMBINATIONS EXAMPLE

 How many different poker hands are there (5 cards)?

52! 52! 52 * 51* 50 * 49 * 48 * 47!
C (52,5)    2,598,960
5!(52  5)! 5!47! 5 * 4 * 3 * 2 *1* 47!

 How many ways are there to select five players from a 10-member tennis
team to make a trip to a match at another school?

 A group of 30 people have been trained as astronauts to go on the first

mission to Mars. How many ways are there to select a crew of six people to
go on this mission (assuming that all crew members have the same job)?
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 COMBINATIONS EXAMPLE

Problem: Suppose that there are 9 faculty members in the mathematics

department and 11 in the computer science department. How many ways are
there to select a committee to develop a discrete mathematics course at a
school if the committee is to consist of three faculty members from the
mathematics department and four from the computer science department?

Solution: By the product rule, the answer is the product of the number of 3-
combinations of a set with nine elements and the number of 4-combinations
of a set with 11 elements.
By Theorem of r combination, the number of ways to select the committee is
C(9,3) * C(11,4) = 84 * 330= 27,720

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 Combinations example

Problem: In how many ways can a set of five letters be selected from the
English alphabet?

Solve: ?

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PERMUTATIONS VS. COMBINATIONS
 Both are ways to count the possibilities
 The difference between them is whether order matters or not
 Consider a poker hand:
A♦, 5♥, 7♣, 10♠, K♠
 Is that the same hand as:
K♠, 10♠, 7♣, 5♥, A♦
 Does the order the cards are handed out matter?
If yes, then we are dealing with permutations
If no, then we are dealing with combinations

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 PERMUTATIONS VS. COMBINATIONS EXAMPLE

Problem: A club has 25 members.

a) How many ways are there to choose four members of the club to serve on
an executive committee?
b) How many ways are there to choose a president, vice president, secretary,
and treasurer of the club, where no person can hold more than one office?
Solution: ?

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ANY QUESTIONS?