DBM20083-

DISCRETE
C h a p t e
MATHEMATICS r 5
Chapter 5: BASIC COUNTING
RULES
5.1 Derive counting principle
5.1.1 Describe the used of counting
5.1.2 Describe with examples the following basic
decomposition rules/ counting principle
5.1.1a Sum Rule
5.1.2b Product Rule
5.1.3 Identify with example the more complex
counting problems typically require a
combination of the sum and product rules
5.1.4 Solve problem using the basic counting
principle rule
 BASIC COUNTING PRINCIPLE
When there are m ways to do one thing, and n ways to do another, BUT we can’t do
both at the same time, then there are m + n ways to choose one of the actions.
(OR CONCEPT)

Example:
Example:
A student can choose a math project
A college library has 40 textbooks on
from one of two lists. The two lists
sociology and 50 textbooks on
contain 17 and 23 possible projects,
anthropology. To learn about sociology
respectively, and no project is on both
or anthropology, a student can choose
lists. That means the student can
from 40 + 50 = 90 textbooks
choose 17 + 23 = 40 possible projects.
 BASIC COUNTING PRINCIPLE
When there are m ways to do one thing, and n ways to do another, then there are m ×
n ways of doing both.
(AND CONCEPT)

Example:
Example: There are 6 flavors of ice-cream, and 3
You have 3 shirts and 4 pants. That different cones. That means 6×3=18
means 3×4=12 different outfits. different single-scoop ice-creams you
could order.
Example
You are buying a new car. There are 2 body styles:

There are 5 colors available:

There are 3 models: GL(standard model), SS(sports

model with bigger engine) and SL(luxury model
with leather seats). How many total choices?
Solution
You can see in this "tree" diagram:

You can count the choices, or just do the simple

calculation:
Total Choices = 2 × 5 × 3 = 30
Solution
You can see in this "tree" diagram:

You are buying a new car ... but ... the

salesman says "You can't choose
black for the hatchback" ... well then
things change!
You now have You can count the choices, or
just do the simple calculation. But you can
still make your life easier with this
calculation:
Choices = 5×3 + 4×3 = 15 + 12 = 27
p\to q

Exercise A
1. How many ways of a student can choose a calculus professor
if there are 8 male professors and 5 female professors who
teach calculus class?
2. How many outfits can be made from 4 pairs of pants, 3 shirts,
and 2 pairs of shoes?
3. An office building contains 27 floors and has 37 offices on
each floor. How many offices are in the building?
4. Make a tree diagram to answer this one. How many ways
can you arrange a fun evening out if you have 3 choices for
restaurants, 3 choices for movies, and 2 choices for a friend to
take along? You choose the names of the movies, restaurants,
and friends.
p\to q

Exercise A
5. How many ways can you arrange 4 books on
the same shelf? You can use a single letter to
represent a book title (such as A, B, C, and D).
(Hint: there are 4 to choose from for the first
position, leaving 3 to choose from for the
second position, etc.)
6. A restaurant offers a meal set where there are
5 choices of appetizer, 10 choices of main
meal and 4 choices of dessert. How many
different possible meals does the restaurant
offer?
p\to q

Exercise A
7. Sarah goes to her local pizza parlor and
orders a pizza. She can choose either a large
or a medium pizza, can choose one of seven
different toppings, and can have three
different choices of crust. How many different
pizzas could Sarah order?
8. Derek must choose a four-digit PIN number.
Each digit can be chosen from 0 to 9. How
many different possible PIN numbers can
Derek choose?
p\to q

Exercise A
9. For her literature course, Rachel has to choose
one novel to study from a list of four, one
poem from a list of six and one short story
from a list of five. How many different choices
does Rachel have?
10.Jenny has nine different skirts, seven different
tops, ten different pairs of shoes, two different
necklaces and five different bracelets. In how
many ways can Jenny dress up?
 COMBINATION OF SUM AND
PRODUCT RULE
Example: Solution:
Calvin wants to go to Milwaukee. He • He has 3 + 2 = 5 ways to get to
can choose from 3 bus services or 2 downtown Chicago. (Rule of
train services to head from home to sum)
downtown Chicago. From there, he can • From there, he has 2 + 3 = 5 ways
choose from 2 bus services or 3 to get to Milwaukee. (Rule of
train services to head to Milwaukee. sum)
How many ways are there for Calvin to • Hence, he has 5 x 5 = 25 ways to
get to Milwaukee? get to Milwaukee in total.
• (Rule of product)
 COMBINATION OF SUM AND
PRODUCT RULE
Example: Solution:
Pastry shop menu: • Muffin and hot beverage=6 . 2 = 12
6 kinds of muffins, 8 kinds of (Product Rule)
sandwiches, hot coffee, hot tea, • Sandwich and cold beverage= 8 . 3
ice tea, cola, orange juice = 24 (Product Rule)
Buy either a muffin and a hot • Hence, there are 12 + 24 = 36 ways
beverage, or a sandwich and a to purchase. (Sum Rule)
cold beverage.
How many possible purchases?
p\to q

Exercise B
1. A boy lives at X and wants to go to School at Z. From his home
X he has to first reach Y and then Y to Z. He may go X to Y by
either 3 bus routes or 2 train routes. From there, he can
either choose 4 bus routes or 5 train routes to reach Z. How
many ways are there to go from X to Z?
2. A restaurant offers 5 choices of appetizer, 10 choices of the
main course and 4 choices of dessert. A customer can choose
to eat just one course, or two different courses, or all three
courses. Assuming that all food choices are available, how
many different possible meals does the restaurant offer?
(NOTE: When you eat a course, you only pick one of the
choices).
p\to q

Exercise B
3. Suppose statement labels in a programming
language can be either a single letter or a
letter followed by a digit. Find the number of
possible labels.
Chapter 5: BASIC COUNTING
RULES
5.2 Compute permutations and combinations
5.2.1 Define permutation
5.2.2 Describe permutations with and without
repetition
5.2.3 Solve counting problems by using
permutations
5.2.4 Describe combinations with and without
repetition
5.2.5 Solve counting problems by using
combinations
 PERMUTATION

Definition: An arrangement or listing in which the order or placement is important.

Two types of permutation:

2. REPETITION is NOT ALLOWED

1. REPETITION is ALLOWED
Example: the first three people in a
Example; safety pin.
running race. You can't be first and
It could be "333".
second.

To help you to remember, think "Permutation ... Position"

1. REPETITION IS ALLOWED
When a thing has ndifferent types ... we have nchoices each time!
For example: choosing 3of those things, the permutations are:
n × n × n (n multiplied 3 times)
More generally: choosing rof something that has ndifferent types, the permutations
are:
n × n × ... (r times)
(In other words, there are n possibilities for the first choice, THEN there are n
possibilities for the second choice, and so on, multiplying each time.)
Which is easier to write down using an exponent of r:
n × n × ... (r times) = nʳ
 𝒏ʳ
So, the formula is simply:

Where 𝑛 is the number of things to choose from, and we choose 𝑟 of them,

repetition is allowed and order matters.
Example
How many different bit strings of length seven are there?

Solution:
Each of the seven bits can be chosen in two ways, because each bit is either 0 or 1.
Hence, by the product rule, there are a total of 2⁷ = 128 different bit strings of
length seven.
Example
How many different license plates can be made if
each plate contains a sequence of three uppercase
English letters followed by three digits? (Note:
Repetition of English letters and digits are allowed)
Solution:
There are 26 choices for each of the three
uppercase English letters and ten choices for each
of the three digits.
Hence, by the product rule, there are a total of
26.26.26.10.10.10 = 17,576,000 possible license
plates.
2. REPETITION IS NOT ALLOWED
The number of permutations of n different items, taken r at a time is

Example:
There are 16 balls tagged with number 1 till 16. How many ways can we pick 3 balls
without repeating the same balls.

Solution:
So, your first choice would be 16, the second choice is 15 and the third is 14
possibilities. 𝟏𝟔. 𝟏𝟓. 𝟏𝟒 = 𝟑𝟑𝟔𝟎 ways OR
Example
There are 16 balls tagged with number 1 till 16, how many ways can we pick all
balls without repeating the same balls.

Solution:
Your first choice would be 16, the second choice is 15, the third is 14 possibilities

𝟏𝟔×𝟏𝟓×𝟏𝟒×⋯ = 𝟐𝟎, 𝟗𝟐𝟐, 𝟕𝟖𝟗, 𝟖𝟖𝟖, 𝟎𝟎𝟎 ways

and etc.

Or
Example
A class has 10 students: A, B, C, D, …, I, J. 4 students are to be seated in a row for a
picture:
BCEF, CEFI, ABCF, …
How many such arrangements?

Solution:
Filling for a position: A stage of the counting procedure (Product Rule)
10 x 9 x 8 x 7 = 5040
Example
a) Find the number of arrangements for the word BOBBY
b) Find the number of arrangements for the word BENZENE

Solution:
a) BOBBY have repetition letter which is B, and it’s repeated 3 times.

b) BENZENE has repetition letters which are E & N. E is repeated 3 times and N is
repeated 2 times.
Example
A certain password consists of 6 digits. Find the number of possible ways this
password can be formed
a) If all the digits can be repeated
b) If no digit can be repeated
c) If the password cannot begin with the digit 0 and the digits can be
repeated

Solution:
There are all together 10 digits from 0 to 9.
a) 10⁶ = 1,000,000 ways b)
c) 9×10×10×10×10×10 = 900,000 ways
 IMPORTANT
Without repetition our choices get reduced each time.
The factorial function (symbol: !) just means to multiply a series of descending
natural numbers. Examples:
4! = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24
7! = 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 5,040
1! = 1
p\to q

Exercise A
1. How many permutations of 3 different digits are there,
chosen from the ten digits 0 to 9 inclusive?
2. A password consists of four different letters of the 26
alphabet. How many different possible passwords are there?
3. A password consists of two letters of the alphabet followed
by three digits chosen from 0 to 9. Repeats are allowed. How
many different possible passwords are there?
4. Assuming that any arrangement of six letters forms a 'word',
how many 'words' of any length can be formed from the
letters of the word SQUARE? No repeating of letters.
5. Find the number of ways that a party of seven persons can
arrange themselves in a row of seven chairs.
p\to q

Exercise C
6. Find the number of permutations that can be formed from all
the letters of each word.
a) RADAR
b) UNUSUAL
7. In how many ways can four mathematics books, three history
books, three chemistry books, and two sociology books be
arranged on a shelf so that all books of the same subject are
together?
8. How many vehicle plate numbers can be made if each plate
contains two different letters followed by three different digits?
p\to q

Exercise C
9. Find the number of permutations that can be
formed from the letters of the word ELEVEN
10. How many of the word ELEVEN begin and end
with letter E
 COMBINATION
A combination focuses on the selection of objects without regard to the order in which
they are selected.
Two types of combination:

2. REPETITION is ALLOWED
1. REPETITION is NOT ALLOWED Example:coins in your pocket
(5,5,5,10,10)

To help you to remember, think ABC and BCA represent equivalent

combinations of the letters ABC.
1. REPETITION IS NOT ALLOWED
In general, the number of combinations of 𝑛 things, taken 𝑟 at a time is

Where 𝑛 is the number of things to choose from, and we choose 𝑟 of them

Example
There are 16 balls tagged with number 1 till 16. How many ways can we pick 3
combination balls without repeating the same balls?

Solution:

e.g: 123 (a combination), 345, 678, 124, 125, 126, ....,

 2. REPETITION IS ALLOWED
In general, the number of combinations of 𝑛 things, taken 𝑟 at a time is

Where 𝑛 is the number of things to choose from, and we choose 𝑟 of them

Example
There are five flavors of ice cream: banana, chocolate, lemon, strawberry and
vanilla. You can have three scoops. How many variations will there be?

Solution: You can have 3 scoops and repetition is allowed, so it may be CCC, CCB,
CCL ...etc.
By using formula;
Example
A committee is to be formed 8 men and 4
women. Find the number of ways this
committee can be formed consisting of
a) 7 members
b) 5 men and 2 women
c) 7 members with the men more than
the women
Solution
There are 4 possibilities with 7
committee members. Hence, we can add
all values.
Number of ways = 8 + 112 + 336 + 280 =
736
Example
There are 6 men and 5 women in a room. In how
many ways we can choose 3 men
and 2 women from the room?

Solution:
• The number of ways to choose 3 men from 6
men is
• The number of ways to choose 2 women from
5 women is
• Hence, the total number of ways is
Example
How many ways can you choose 3 distinct groups of 3 students from
total 9 students?

Solution:
Let us number the groups as 1, 2 and 3.
• For choosing 3 students for 1st group, the number of ways -
• The number of ways for choosing 3 students for 2nd group after
choosing 1st group -
• The number of ways for choosing 3 students for 3rd group after
choosing 1st and 2nd group −
• Hence, the total number of ways −
Example
How many different committees of 5 people can be chosen
from 10 people?

Solution:
In choosing a committee, order doesn't matter; so we need
the number of combinations of 5 people chosen from 10
= ¹⁰C₅
=10!/(5!)(5!)
= (10 × 9 × 8 × 7 × 6)/(5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1)
= 30 240/120
= 252
Example
Jones is the Chairman of a committee. In how many ways can a committee of 5 be
chosen from 10 people given that Jones must be one of them?

Solution:
Jones is already chosen, so we need to choose another 4 from 9. In choosing a
committee, order doesn't matter; so we need the number of combinations of 4
people chosen from 9
= ⁹C₄
= 9!/(4!)(5!)
= (9 × 8 × 7 × 6)/(4 × 3 × 2 × 1)
= 3 024/24
= 126
p\to q

Exercise C
1. A bag contains six white marbles and five red
marbles. Find the number of ways four marbles
can be drawn from the bag if
a) They can be any color
b) Two must be white and two red
c) They must all be in the same color

2. John has 8 friends. In how many ways can he

invite one or more of them to dinner?
p\to q

Exercise D
3. In how many ways can a cricket-eleven be
chosen out of 15 players? if
a) A particular player is always chosen
b) A particular player is never chosen.

4. How many committees of five with a given

chairperson can be selected from 12 persons?
p\to q

SUPPLEMENTARY PROBLEMS
1. How many different signals can be made by 5 flags
from 8-flags of different colors?

2. How many words can be made by using the letters

of the word “SIMPLETON” taken all at a time?

3. A child has 3 pocket and 4 coins. In how many ways

can he put the coins in his pocket?

4. In how many ways can the letters of the word

“University” be arranged?
p\to q

SUPPLEMENTARY PROBLEMS
5. A student is to answer 10 out of 13 questions on
an exam
a) How many choices he has?
b) How many if he must answer the first two
questions?
c) How many if he must answer the first or
second question but not both?
d) How many if he must answer exactly three
out of the first five questions?
e) How many if he must answer at least three
of the first five questions?
p\to q

Extra Exercise
1. A bag contains 9 discs numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
i. Amy chooses 5 discs at random, without replacement, and
places them in a row.
a) How many different 5-digit numbers can be made?
b) How many different ODD 5-digit numbers can be made?
ii. Amy’s 5 discs are put back in the bag. Mary chooses 5 discs at
random, without replacement. Give your answers as EXACT
values, find the probability that
a) The 5 digits include at least 4 odd digits
b) The 5 digits add up to 33.
p\to q

Extra Exercise
2. From a group of 7 men and 6 women, five persons are to be
selected to form a committee so that at least 3 men are there on the
committee. In how many ways can it be done?

3. In how many different ways can the letters of the word

'LEADING' be arranged in such a way that the vowels always come
together?

4. In how many different ways can the letters of the word

'CORPORATION' be arranged so that the vowels always come
together?
p\to q

Extra Exercise
5. In how many ways can the letters of the word 'LEADER' be
arranged?
6. How many ways the letters of the word ‘ARMOUR’ can be
arranged?
7. How many ways the letters of the word ‘CLANKING’ can be
arranged?
8. In how many ways, a group of 3 boys and 2 girls can be formed
out of a total of 4 boys and 4 girls?
9. How many even numbers of four digits can be formed with the
digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7; no digit being used more than once?
p\to q

Extra Exercise
10.How many numbers of four digits greater than 2,400 can be
formed with digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6; no digit being repeated in
any number?
11.How many different words can be formed with the letters of the
word ‘FAMILY’ when vowels occupy even places?
12.In how many ways can 5 boys and 4 girls be seated in a row, so
that they alternate?
13.In a group, there are 8 women and 7 men, how many groups of 5
women and 5 men can be formed?
14.8 bottles are to be selected from a bundle of 9 plastic and 7 steel.
In how many ways will the bottles with at most 3 steel and at
least 4 plastic be selected?
p\to q

Extra Exercise
15.How many possible two-digit number can be formed by using
the digits 3,5,7 (repetition is allowed)?
16.In how many different ways can the letters of the words
‘GEPGRAPHY’ be arranged such that the vowel must always
come together?
17.In how many ways can 5 boys and 5 girls can be seated in a row
so that boys and girls are placed alternately?
18.How many 3-digits odd number can be formed from the digits
5,6,7,8,9 if the digits can be repeated.
19.In how many different ways can the letters of the word ‘FIGHT’
be arranged?
p\to q

Extra Exercise
20.In how many different ways can the letters of the word ‘FIGHT’
be arranged?
21.From a group of 7 men and 6 women, five persons are to be
selected to form a committee so that at least 3 men are there on
the committee. In how many ways can it be done?
22.How many four-digit numbers can be formed with digits 2,5,6,7,
and 8? (repeating digits are not allowed)
23.In how many ways can we sort the letters of the word
management so that the comparative position of vowels and
consonants remains the same as in MANAGEMENT.
p\to q

Extra Exercise
24.How many different 6-digit numbers can be formed from the
digit 4,5,2,1,8,9?
25.Out of 8 consonants and 4 vowels, how many words of 3
consonants and 2 vowels can be formed?
26.Find the number of ways that the letters in SAVEMYMATHS may
be rearranged if:
i. no restrictions apply
ii. there must be an S at each of the arrangement
iii. the two A’s must be together.