Permutations and Combinations

29/09/2013
Permutations and Combinations
Contents
I. INTRODUCTION
II. FACTORIAL
III. PERMUTATIONS AND COMBINATIONS
IV. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF COUNTING
V. PERMUTATIONS
A. PERMUTATIONS WITH REPETITIONS

B. CIRCULAR ARRANGEMENTS
C. DERANGEMENT
VI. COMBINATIONS
VII. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BINOMIAL THEOREM

I. INTRODUCTION
In our daily life, we often come across situations where we have to arrange certain
items depending upon certain conditions or we have to select or reject some items
out of a given number of items. The concept of permutations and combinations
helps us to find the number of ways to arrange, select or reject. The concepts
discussed here are also useful in solving problems related to reasoning.
Fundamental principle of counting is the basis of different concepts discussed
here.
II. FACTORIAL
The factorial of a natural number n, denoted by n! or |n is the product of all natural
numbers less than or equal to n.
file:///C:/Users/Asus/Desktop/Permutations and Combinations.mht
1/39
29/09/2013
n! = 1
(n
1)
The following factorials can be memorised for faster calculations.

1! 1
2! 2
3! 3
4! 4
5! 5
6! 6
7! 7
6
24
120
720
1 5040
REMEMBER:
n! = n
[(n
1)
n! = n
(n
1)!
n! = n
(n
1)
(n
(n
2)
(n
3)
1]
2)!
For example,
5! = 5
4!
12! = 12
11
10!
The factorial of 0 is defined to be one.

0! = 1
The factorial of negative numbers is not defined.
Example 1:
Find the value of 1
1! + 2
2! + 3
3! + 4
4! + + 11
11!
Solution:
1
1! + 2
= (2 1)
1)
2! + 3
3! + 4
1! + (3 1)
4! + + 11
2! + (4 1)
11!
3! + (5 1)
4! + + (11 1)
10! + (12
11!
= 2! 1! + 3! 2! + 4! 3! + 5! 4! + + 11! 10! + 12! 11!

2/39
29/09/2013
= 12! 1!
= (7!
= 5040
9
720
10
132
11
12) 1
1
= 479001599
III. PERMUTATIONS AND COMBINATIONS

A task of selecting a number of objects from a given set of objects, will involve a
number of choices. The number of choices available will depend on the purpose of
selection. If the order of selection is unimportant, it is called a combination. If the
order of selection is important, it is called a permutation.
Let us try and understand the basic idea of permutations and combinations using
the following example.
Consider the case of selecting two out of three students A, B and C.
Case I:
Suppose we have to select two students, A and B, and rank them according to the
marks they have scored. The different possibilities that exist are as follows:
Rank 1 A A B B C C
Rank 2 B C A C A B
Note that the selection (A, B) is different from the selection (B, A) here.
Total number of selections = 6
Here we are selecting the students as well as arranging them for a purpose. This
kind of selection is called a permutation.
Case II:
Now suppose we need to select two students for a gardening assignment. The order
in which the students would be selected is not important here. The possibilities in
this case would include (A, B), (B, C) and (A, C).
Note that (A, B) and (B, A) in the above case mean the same thing as we just need to
form groups of two objects and we dont need to rank them.
Total number of selections = 3
3/39
29/09/2013
Here we are concerned only with selecting the students and we are not concerned
with the order in which they are selected. This kind of selection is called a
combination.
REMEMBER:
Permutations involve selection and arrangement of objects while combinations
involve only selection of objects.
The following example will make the idea clearer.

Suppose we want to arrange four people out of seven in a row for a photograph,
then initially we would select four people out of seven and then arrange them in
some order for the photograph. Both these tasks would involve making choices
firstly for choosing people and then to allocate them a position in the photograph.
This is an example of permutations.
However if we want to select four people out of seven for forming a committee then
our objective will remain limited to selecting four people out of seven. Here we
would not be concerned with arranging them. This is an example of combinations.
Example 2:
Find out whether the following tasks involve permutations or combinations.
i. Arranging five girls on five chairs for a photograph.
ii. Forming a committee of five people from ten boys and five girls.
iii. Electing a captain and a vice-captain from a team of 11.
iv. Selecting a king or a queen from a pack of cards.
Solution:
i. Here, we need to arrange the five girls on five chairs. Thus it involves arranging
the five girls. Note that though we do not select five girls from five, this is still a
case of permutations.
ii. Here, we only need to select five people out of ten boys and five girls. There is no
arrangement involved. So it is a case of combinations.
iii. This task involves selecting two people, and then arranging them in order, the
4/39
29/09/2013
first one being the captain and the second being the vice-captain. Hence, this is a
case of permutations.
iv. Here, we just have to select two cards. In the previous task, a player selected
was to be made the captain or vice-captain. However, here we just have to select a
king or a queen out of the kings and queens in the pack of cards. Hence, this is a
case of combinations.
Now that we understand the concept of permutations and combinations, we will
find out how the number of permutations and combinations is counted. For that
we first need to understand the Fundamental Principle of Counting.
IV. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF COUNTING
Suppose we need to travel from X to Z via Y. There are three routes a, b, c available
to go from X to Y and two routes p, q available to go from Y to Z.
If we travel from X to Y taking the route a, then we can travel from Y to Z in two
ways.
But for every choice of route that we make for travelling from X to Y, there are two
ways to travel from Y to Z.
As there are three routes to travel from X to Y, there are 2 + 2 + 2 = 3
travel from X to Z via Y.
2 ways to
The routes are (a, p), (a, q), (b, p), (b, q), (c, p) and (c, q).
If we consider travelling from X to Y as task 1, and travelling from Y to Z as another
task 2, task 1 can be performed in 3 ways, task 2 can be performed in 2 ways, and
task 1 and task 2 together can be performed in 3 2 = 6 ways.
In general, the fundamental principle of counting says that, if we can accomplish one
task in x1 ways, another task in x2 ways, and so on, until the nth task which can be
done in xn ways, then all these tasks can be accomplished in x1
x2
x3
xn ways.
5/39
29/09/2013
REMEMBER:
Consider two tasks; task 1 that can be done in m ways and task 2 that can be
done in n ways.
Task 1 AND task 2 can be done in mn ways.
Task 1 OR task 2 can be done in m + n ways.
Example 3:
Josephine likes to have passwords that have eight characters, the first four being
different vowels and the last four being different numbers. How many different
passwords can she have?
Solution:
The first four characters of Josephines password are to be chosen from the five
vowels. As all of them have to be different, the first vowel can be chosen in 5 ways,
the second in 4 ways, the third in 3 ways and the last in 2 ways. The four numbers
can be chosen from the 10 digits from 0 to 9 in 10, 9, 8 and 7 ways respectively.
Thus the number of different passwords that Josephine can have
=5
10
7 = 604800
Example 4:
How many numbers greater than 5000 can be formed by arranging the digits 4, 5,
7, 9 using each digit only once?
Solution:
The first digit can be chosen in 3 ways, i.e., it can be 5, 7 or 9.
Once this digit is chosen, the next digit can be chosen in 3 ways, the next in 2 and
the next in 1.
Thus, 3
1 = 18 such numbers can be formed.
18 numbers greater than 5000 can be formed by arranging the digits 4, 5, 7, 9

using each digit only once.
6/39
29/09/2013
Example 5:
How many numbers can be formed using the digits 4, 5, 7, 9 if repetition of digits is
allowed?
Solution:
As we can use a digit more than once, for each place we can choose any of the 4
digits.
Thus, 4
4 = 256 such numbers can be formed.
256 numbers can be formed using any of the digits 4, 5, 7, 9 if repetition of digits is
allowed.
Example 6:
How many integers, greater than 999 but not greater than 4000, can be formed
with the digits 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4, if repetition of digits is allowed?
[CAT 2008]
(1) 499
(2) 500
(3) 375
(4) 376
(5) 501
Solution:
The minimum number that can be formed is 1000 and the maximum number that
can be formed is 4000.
As 4000 is the only number in which the first digit is 4, first let us calculate the
numbers less than 4000 and then we will add 1 to it.
First digit can be 1, 2 or 3.
Remaining 3 digits can be any of the 5 digits.
Total numbers that can be formed, which are less than 4000 = 3
5 = 375
Total numbers that satisfy the given condition

= 375 + 1 = 376
Hence, option 4.
7/39
29/09/2013
Example 7:
Four medical representatives R1, R2, R3 and R4 are to visit one doctor each on
Thursday. The doctors are D1, D2, D3 and D4. R1 will not visit D1, and R2 will visit
only D2 or D3. In how many ways can the visits be done?
Solution:
R2 can visit 1 doctor (D2 or D3) in 2 ways. Then R1 is left with 2 choices (D2/D3
or D4).
After this, R3 and R4 have 2 and 1 choices.
The total number of ways in which the visits can be done = 2
1=8
Example 8:
Eight buildings in a residential complex are to be painted on their outsides in any
one colour from among cream, blue, green, pink and white. The buildings are in a
row. Two buildings can have the same colour but two adjacent buildings cannot. In
how many ways can the buildings be painted?
Solution:
The first building can be painted using any one of the five colours in 5 ways. The
second building can be painted using any of the remaining four colours in 4 ways.
The third building can have any colour except the one with which the second
building is painted. Thus it can be painted in 4 ways. Similarly, the fourth, fifth,
sixth, seventh and eighth buildings can be painted using 4 colours each.
Thus, the total number of ways in which the buildings can be painted = 5
47
8/39
29/09/2013
Example 9:
There are 10 stations on a railway line. The number of different journey tickets
that are required by the authorities is
[SNAP 2008, SNAP 2009]
(1) 10!
(2) 90
(3) 81
(4) 10
Solution:
The originating station could be any of the 10. The destination could be any of the
other 9 stations.
Thus, total number of tickets required = 9
10 = 90
Hence, option 2.
[Note: The options for SNAP 2009 were: 92, 90, 91 and None of these ]
V. PERMUTATIONS
If we are given n objects and we are supposed to arrange r (r
n) objects out of
these then the number of ways in which this can be done is written as nPr and is
read as the number of permutations of n objects taken r at a time.
The number of permutations is given as:
In case I given above, we were supposed to rank 2 out of 3 students. This can be
written as 3P2.
Thus, there are 6 different ways in which 2 objects out of 3 can be ranked. These 6
different possible cases are as given in case I.
Explanation:
We have n objects and we wish to arrange r out of these in order.
9/39
29/09/2013
The first object can be chosen from any of the n objects in n ways.
The second object now can be chosen from the remaining n 1 object in n 1 ways.
Using the fundamental principle of counting, the first two objects can be chosen in
n(n 1) ways.
The third object can be chosen from the remaining n 2 objects in n 2 ways.
Again, using the fundamental principle of counting, the first three objects can be
chosen in
n(n 1)(n 2) ways.
Continuing thus, when r 1 objects are selected,
n (r 1) = (n r + 1) objects are left and the r th object can be selected in (n r +
1) ways.
Also, all the r objects can be chosen in
n(n 1)(n 2)(n 3)(n r + 1) ways.
nP =
r
n(n 1)(n 2) (n 3)(n r + 1)
REMEMBER:
If r = 0,
If r = 1,
If r = n,
If r = n 1,
10/39
29/09/2013
Example 10:
Find the values of the following:
i. 6P5
ii. 8P8
Solution:
ii. 8P8 = 8! = 40320
Example 11:
Find the value of n if 5Pn+1 = 2
6P
n
Solution:
5P +1
n
=2
(6
n)(5
6P
n
n) = 12 (i)
Two consecutive numbers, whose product is 12, are 4 and 3.

So, 6
n = 4 and 5
n=3
11/39
29/09/2013
Hence, n = 2.
Note: solving the quadratic equation (i) gives two values of n, 9 and 2.
But since 5Pn+1 = 2
6P , n
n
+1
n=2
Example 12:
[IIFT 2007]
(1) 2n
(3) 2n 1
(2) 2n 1
(4) 2n + 1
Solution:
Hence, option 2.
Example 13:
Five people are to be arranged on five chairs for a photograph. In how many ways
can this be done?
Solution:
12/39
29/09/2013
In all, there are 5 people and we wish to arrange all 5. Hence, the total number of
ways to do this is: 5P5 = 5! = 120
Thus, 5 people can be arranged on 5 chairs in 120 ways.
Example 14:
Five people are to be arranged on five chairs for a photograph such that two
people are always together. Find out the number of ways in which this can be
done.
Solution:
Any problem of this type can be solved in three steps:
Step I: Assume the people who want to be together to be one entity.
Here, two people always want to be together. So, let us consider them as one entity.
So, now we have only 4 entities (3 individuals + 1 entity consisting of 2 people) to
be arranged amongst themselves.
This can be done in 4P4 ways = 24 ways.
Step II: Find the number of ways in which the people who are together can be
arranged amongst themselves.
Now, the two people who are together can be arranged amongst themselves in
2P ways
2
= 2 ways.
Step III: Apply the fundamental principle of counting.

As Step I AND Step II are performed, the total number of ways in which the
arrangement can be done = 24
2 = 48 ways.
Thus, 5 people can be arranged amongst themselves, such that 2 people are always
together, in 48 ways.
Example 15:
Five people are to be arranged on five chairs for a photograph such that three
13/39
29/09/2013
people among them do not want to sit next to each other. Find out the number of
ways in which this can be done.
Solution:
If three people do not want to sit next to each other, they will occupy alternate
chairs, i.e. the first, third and fifth chairs. They can be arranged on these 3 chairs in
3! ways. The remaining two people can be arranged on the second and the fourth
chairs in 2! ways.
The total number of arrangements = 3!
2!
= 12
Example 16:
Five people are to be arranged on five chairs for a photograph. Three of these are
females and the rest are males. Find out the number of ways in which all three
females do not occupy consecutive seats.
Solution:
In this case, three females cannot occupy consecutive seats but two can.
Therefore if we find the number of ways in which all three females occupy
consecutive seats and subtract this number from the total number of ways in
which the five people can be arranged among themselves, we will get the required
answer.
5 people can be arranged among themselves in 5P5 ways = 120 ways.
Assume that the 3 females are one entity. The total number of ways in which they
can be arranged among themselves = 3! = 6
Also, the set of three females and the other two people can be arranged among
themselves in 3! = 6 ways.
Thus, total number of ways in which three females are together = 6
6 = 36
Thus, number of ways in which all 3 females will not occupy consecutive seats
= 120
36 = 84
Thus, the numbers of ways in which all three females do not occupy consecutive
14/39
29/09/2013
seats is 84.
Example 17:
How many words can be formed by arranging the letters of the word HELPING?
Solution:
Total number of letters in the word HELPING = 7.
Number of ways in which they can be arranged amongst themselves is 7P7 = 7! =
5040 ways.
Thus, 5040 words can be formed by arranging the letters of the word HELPING.
Example 18:
Using all the letters of the word LINEAR, how many different words can be formed
that start and end with a vowel?
How many words start with a vowel but end with a consonant?
Solution:
The word LINEAR has three vowelsI, E and A.
If a word starts and ends with a vowel, the two letters to occupy the first and the
last positions can be selected and arranged in 3P2 = 6 ways.
The remaining 4 letters can be arranged among themselves in 4P4 = 4! = 24 ways.
The number of words that start and end with a vowel = 24
6 = 144.
If a word starts with a vowel but ends with a consonant, its first letter can be
selected from I, E and A in 3 ways. Its last letter can be selected from L, N and R in
3 ways. The remaining 4 letters can be arranged in 4! ways.
The number of words that start with a vowel but end with a consonant = 3
4! = 9
24 = 216.
15/39
29/09/2013
Example 19:
A numerical code having six different digits from 1 to 9 is to be formed. The code
should have only odd digits in its odd positions and only even digits in its even
positions. How many different codes can be formed?
Solution:
Five odd numbers and four even numbers are available. The three odd positions in
the code can be filled in 5P3 ways and the three even positions can be filled in 4P3
ways.
Thus the total number of codes that can be formed = 5P3
4P =
3
60
24 = 1440.
Example 20:
How many numbers can be formed by arranging the digits 4, 5, 7, 9 using each
digit exactly once?
Solution:
This question can be solved using the fundamental principle of counting as
demonstrated earlier. The answer in that case would be 4 3 2 1 = 4! = 24.
Using permutations, the number of ways in which the four numbers can be
arranged = 4P4 = 24
Example 21:
There are 6 tasks and 6 persons. Task 1 cannot be assigned either to person 1 or
to person 2; task 2 must be assigned to either person 3 or person 4. Every person
is to be assigned one task. In how many ways can the assignment be done?
[CAT 2006]
(1) 144
(2) 180
(3) 192
(4) 360
(5) 716
Solution:
16/39
29/09/2013
Task 2 can be assigned in 2 ways (either to person 3 or person 4).

Task 1 can then be assigned in 3 ways (persons 3 or 4, 5 and 6)
The remaining 4 tasks can be assigned to the remaining 4 persons in 4! = 24 ways
The assignment can be done in 24
3 = 144 ways
Hence, option 1.
Example 22:
One red flag, three white flags and two blue flags are arranged in a line such that,
(A) no two adjacent flags are of the same colour.
(B) the flags at the two ends of the line are of
different colours.
In how many different ways can the flags be arranged?
[CAT 2000]
(1) 6
(2) 4
(3) 10
(4) 2
Solution:
First arrange one red and two blue flags in 3 ways. (i.e. BBR, BRB, RBB)
Now there are four positions (say 1, 2, 3, 4) to arrange 3 white flags. Since the flags
at the ends are of different colours, two white flags cant be at positions 1 and 4
simultaneously. Thus, the three flags can be arranged at 1, 2, 3 or 2, 3, 4 in 2 ways.
Thus, the six flags can be arranged in 3
2 = 6 ways.
Hence, option 1.
A. PERMUTATIONS WITH REPETITIONS

If we have to form words using the letters A, B and C, we can make 3P3 = 6 words,
which are ABC, ACB, BAC, BCA, CAB and CBA.
17/39
29/09/2013
But, if we have to form words using the letters A, B and A, then we can make only
3 different wordsAAB, ABA and BAA.
Repetition of letters reduces the number of words that can be formed.
Therefore in case the n elements that are to be arranged among themselves have
some repeated elements among them, the number of permutations nPn
If n objects are to be arranged among themselves and these contain p identical
objects of one kind, q identical objects of another kind, r identical objects of still
another kind and so on, the total number of ways in which they can be arranged is
given by
Example 23:
How many words can be formed by arranging the letters of the word WEEDED?
Solution:
Total number of letters in the word WEEDED = 6.
D occurs 2 times and E occurs 3 times.
Hence, the total number of words that can be formed by arranging these letters is:
Thus, 60 words can be formed by arranging the letters of the word WEEDED.
Example 24:
If all letters of the word "CHCJL" be arranged in an English dictionary, what will be
the 50th word?
[XAT 2010]
(1) HCCLJ
(2) LCCHJ
(3) LCCJH
(4) JHCLC
(5) None of the above

18/39
29/09/2013
Solution:
In the list of words arranged in a dictionary, the words starting with C will occur in
the beginning. There are 4! = 24 such words.
After these 24 words, the words staring with H will begin.
After these there will be 12 words starting with J. The next two words, which are
the 49th and 50th
words will start with L and will be LCCHJ and LCCJH respectively.
The 50th word is LCCJH.
Hence, option 3.
Example 25:
Akash has 15 DVDs out of which 3 are of movie A, 5 are of movie B and the rest
are all different. In how many ways can he arrange the DVDs on a shelf?
Solution:
There are 15 objects out of which 3 are of one kind and 5 are of another kind.
B. CIRCULAR ARRANGEMENTS
The number of ways in which n objects can be arranged in a circle = (n 1)!
Explanation:
Consider four people A, B, C and D sitting on a circular table.
19/39
29/09/2013
All the four arrangements shown are one and the same as the beginning and end
of a circle cannot be determined. However, had the four arrangements been linear,
they would be ABCD, DABC, CDAB and BCDA, which would be four different linear
arrangements.
Thus, 4 linear arrangements would give rise to 1 circular arrangement.
But 4 people would give 4! linear arrangements.
4 people would give 4!/4 = 3! circular arrangements.
Similarly, if there were n objects, n linear arrangements would give 1 circular
arrangement.
n! linear arrangements would give n!/n = (n 1)! circular arrangements.
The number of ways in which n objects can be arranged in a circle = (n 1)!
Example 26:
In how many ways can 5 people be seated around a circular table?
Solution:
n objects can be arranged in a circle in (n
1)! ways.
Similarly, 5 people can be seated around a circular table in (5
1)! = 4! = 24 ways.
Example 27:
Seven girls and five boys are to be seated around a circular table such that two of
the girls want to sit next to each other. In how many ways can they be seated?
Solution:
There are 12 people to be seated in a circle. As two girls want to sit next to each
other, we consider them to be one entity.
Then we have 11 entities to be arranged in a circle. This can be done in 10! ways.
The two girls can be arranged in 2! ways.
20/39
29/09/2013
Thus the total number of ways in which the seven girls and five boys can be
arranged = 10!
2!
Example 28:
Five boys and five girls are to be arranged in a circle such that no two girls are
next to each other. In how many ways can they be arranged?
Solution:
We have to arrange a boy and a girl alternately.
The five boys can be arranged in a circle in 4! ways.
There are five places in between the boys, in which the girls can be arranged in 5!
ways.
The total number of ways in which the five boys and five girls can be arranged =
4! 5!
Note that once the boys are seated, the positions of the girls are relative to the
positions of the boys and hence their arrangement is treated as a linear
arrangement.
Some circular arrangements are such that clockwise or anticlockwise arrangements

are the same. A necklace is a typical example of such a circular arrangement.
The number of arrangements of n objects in such a
Example 29:
In how many ways can 6 different beads be arranged to form a necklace?
Solution:
In a necklace, clockwise and anticlockwise arrangements are same.
n objects can be arranged in a necklace in
21/39
29/09/2013
1/2
(n - 1)! ways.
Thus, 6 beads can form a necklace in

1/2
(6
1)! = 5!/2 = 60 ways.
Example 30:
N persons stand on the circumference of a circle at distinct points. Each possible
pair of persons, not standing next to each other, sings a two-minute song one pair
after the other. If the total time taken for singing is 28 minutes, what is N?
[CAT 2004]
(1) 5
(2) 7
(3) 9
(4) None of the above
Solution:
Total time taken for singing = 28 minutes
Total songs sung = 14
As there are N persons, the total number of songs sung
NC
(those sung between adjacent persons)
= NC2 N
(N 7)(N + 4) = 0
N=7
Hence, option 2.
C. DERANGEMENT
22/39
29/09/2013
Consider four envelopes addressed to A, B, C and D respectively and four letters,

one for A, one for B, one for C and one for D.
If the letters are to be put in the envelopes in such a way that none of the letters
goes into the right envelope, the resulting kind of arrangement is called a
derangement.
Derangement is a permutation in which every element appears in the wrong
position.
The number of distinct derangements of n objects is
Thus, in the case of 4 letters, the number of ways to get all four of them into the
wrong envelopes is given by:
= 24
[1/2
1/6 + 1/24]
= 24
[9/24] = 9
The nine derangements are as follows:

Envelopes Letters
A
B B C C C D D D
D C D A D C C A
A D A D B B A B
C A B B A A B C
Example 31:
Professor Forgetful had the test papers and the mark sheets of 5 students. But, he
entered someone elses marks for each of the 5 students. In how many different
ways could he have made this error?
In how many ways could he have entered the correct marks for at least one
student?
Solution:
23/39
29/09/2013
Applying the derangement formula, the number of ways in which this error could
have been done is given by:
= 44
The professor could have made this error in 44 different ways.
Total number of ways in which 5 mark sheets can be given to 5 students = 5P5 = 5!
= 120 ways.
Of these, in 44 ways, all the marks entered would be incorrect.
So, the number of ways in which he could have entered correct marks for at least
one student = 120
44 = 76.
VI. COMBINATIONS
If we are given n objects and we have to select r out of them (r
n), then the
number of ways in which this can be done is nCr and is read as the number of
combinations of n objects taken r at a time.
The number of combinations is given as:
In case II given at the start of this chapter, we were supposed to select 2 out of 3
students. This can be written as 3C2.
Thus, there are 3 different ways in which 2 objects out of 3 can be selected. These 3
different possible cases are as given in case II.
24/39
29/09/2013
Explanation:
Consider n objects out of which r are to be selected. Any combination of r objects
out of these n objects can be arranged in rPr ways. Thus one combination of r
objects gives r! permutations.
As the number of combinations of n objects taken r at a time = nCr, these
combinations in all give nCr
r! permutations.
This is nothing but the number of permutations of n objects taken r at a time.

nP = nC
r
r
r!
REMEMBER:
If r = 0,
If r = 1,
If r = n,
If r = n 1,
Example 32:
Find the values of the following:
i. 7C2
25/39
29/09/2013
ii. 8C5
Solution:
Two Important Results

i. nCr = nCn
7C
2=
7C
ii. nCr = n
10C
1Cr + n
9C
5=
5+
1Cr 1
9C
Explanation:
nC
r=
nC
This can be proved and explained as follows,
nC
r=
nC
r=
nC
nr
1Cr + n 1Cr 1
This can be proved and explained as follows,
RHS = n 1Cr + n 1Cr 1

26/39
29/09/2013
LHS = RHS
nC
r=
1Cr + n 1Cr 1
Example 33:
Find out the value of n if 6C1 = nC2
Solution:
12 = n2
n2
(n
4) (n + 3) = 0
12 = 0
n = 4 or n = 3
But n 3 as n cannot be negative. Also, it cannot be less than r.
27/39
29/09/2013
n=4
REMEMBER:
When n is even, the value of nCr is greatest, when
When n is odd, the value of nCr is greatest, when
Example 34:
From a group of 5 men and 4 women, a committee having 2 men and 3 women is
to be formed. In how many ways can this be done?
Solution:
Total number of men = 5
Of these, two have to be selected in the committee.
This can be done in 5C2 ways.
Total number of women = 4
Of these, three have to be selected.
This can be done in 4C3 ways.
We have to select both men and women.
Thus, applying the fundamental principle of counting, the total number of ways in
which the members of the committee can be selected
= 5C2
4C
3=
10
4 = 40.
28/39
29/09/2013
Example 35:
Out of a group of 5 men and 4 women, in how many ways can you form a
committee of 5 people comprising at least 4 men?
Solution:
The committee should contain at least 4 men, which means, the committee can have
4 men and 1 woman or 5 men.
Let the committee have 4 men and 1 woman. Such a committee can be selected
from 5 men and 4 women in 5C4
4C
1=
4 = 20 ways.
A committee of all 5 men can be selected in

5C =
5
1 way.
The total number of ways to form the committee = 20 + 1 = 21
Example 36:
Radha is writing a mathematics test in which 10 out of 12 questions are
compulsory.
i. If Radha knows the answer to all the questions, but decides to attempt the
minimum required number of questions, how many choices does she have?
ii. Among the ten questions that Radha will attempt, she definitely will attempt
questions 4, 7, 8 and 10. How many choices does she now have for the rest of the
questions?
Solution:
i. Radha can select 10 out of 12 questions to answer in 12C10 ways.
12C
10 =
66
Radha has 66 choices.

ii. Out of the 10 questions that Radha would choose, 4 are fixed.
The remaining 6 questions can be selected from 12
4 = 8 questions in 8C6 ways.

29/39
29/09/2013
8C =
6
28
Radha now has 28 choices.
Example 37:
Ajitabh is packing for a business tour. He wants to pack seven shirts and four pairs
of trousers from his collection of 15 shirts and 8 pairs of trousers. In how many
ways can he pack shirts and trousers, if he has decided to pack one particular
shirt?
Solution:
He has already decided to pack one particular shirt. So now he has to select 6
shirts from 14 shirts. This can be done in 14C6 ways. The trousers can be selected
in 8C4 ways.
The number of ways in which he can pack his shirts and trousers = 14C6
8C
Example 38:
In how many ways can four cards be selected from a pack of cards such that
exactly one of them is an ace?
Solution:
An ace can be selected from 4 aces in 4C1 ways.
The rest three cards can be selected from the 52 4 = 48 non-ace cards in 48C3
ways.
Total number of selections = 4C1
48C
Example 39:
In how many ways can five cards be selected from a pack of cards such that at least
one king is selected?
30/39
29/09/2013
Solution:
There are 4 kings in a pack of 52 cards.
There are 52 4 = 48 non-king cards.
48C
5 selections
52C
have no king in them.
48C
5 selections
have at least one king in them.
The following examples are some applications of combinations to geometry and

reasoning.
Example 40:
A polygon has 104 diagonals. How many sides does it have?
Solution:
Let the polygon have n sides.
It has n vertices.
Lines joining two vertices are either sides or diagonals.
2 vertices can be chosen in nC2 ways.
There are nC2 lines joining two vertices out of which n are sides and the rest are
diagonals.
nC
2
n = 104
n2 3n 208 = 0
(n 16) (n + 13) = 0
n = 16
The polygon has 16 sides.
31/39
29/09/2013
Example 41:
If there are six distinct points on a plane, what is the maximum number of straight
lines joining the points?
[JMET 2010]
(1) 9
(2) 12
(3) 18
(4) 15
Solution:
Minimum number of points required to form a straight line is 2.
So we will get maximum number of lines when no three points are collinear, or we
use only two of the six points in any line.
Total number of ways of selecting 2 of 6 points on the plane
Hence, option 4.
Example 42:
Out of the 20 points in a plane, exactly 5 are collinear. How many triangles can be
constructed with these 20 points as vertices?
Solution:
We have to consider three cases.
Case 1:
None of the three vertices is from among the 5 collinear points.
Then the three vertices can be chosen in
15C
3=
455 ways.
Case 2:
Two vertices are among the 15 non-collinear points and one is from the five
collinear points.
32/39
29/09/2013
The three vertices can be chosen in

15C
5C
1=
525 ways.
Case 3:
Two vertices are among the five collinear points and the third is from the 15 noncollinear points.
The three vertices can be chosen in
5C
2
15 = 150 ways.
Total number of triangles that can be formed

= 455 + 525 + 150 = 1130
Alternatively,
We can select 3 vertices from 20 points in 20C3 ways. Out of these a selection of
three points from the five collinear ones will not form a triangle.
The number of triangles that can be formed
= 20C3 5C3 = 1140 10 = 1130
Example 43:
In a musical reality show, each participant had to sing a duet with every other
participant. 10 duets were sung by two males and 15 duets were sung by 2
females. How many duets were sung between a male and a female?
Solution:
Let there be x males and y females.
The number of duets sung by 2 males = xC2 and the number of duets sung by 2
females = yC2.
xC
2=
10 and yC2 = 15
x(x 1) = 20 and y(y 1) = 30

33/39
29/09/2013
x = 5 and y = 6
There are 5 males and 6 females.
5C
1
6C
1=
30 duets are sung between a male and a female.
Example 44:
An ant wants to travel to the sugar particle using the shortest path along the grid.
In how many ways can it select its path?
Solution:
To reach the sugar particle, the ant will have to travel 8 routes to the left and 5
routes upwards. In all it has to travel 13 routes..
Thus we can visualise a set of 13 routes out of which 5 are upwards and 8 are to
the left.
Thus we just have to choose a combination of 8 routes to the left from a total of 13
routes.
The number of shortest possible routes that the ant can take = 13C8 = 1287.
VII. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BINOMIAL THEOREM

The Binomial Theorem is the general theorem for the expansion of (a + b)n, where
n N.
It states that,
34/39
29/09/2013
(a + b)n = nC0 an + nC1 an - 1 b + nC2 an - 2 b2 + + nCn bn

The Binomial Theorem can be used to prove an important relation in combinations.
The number of ways of selecting none or some or all elements from a set of n
elements is 2n.
Explanation:
By the Binomial Theorem,
(a + b)n = nC0 an + nC1 an
1 b + nC2 an 2 b2 +.... + nCn bn
(1 + 1)n = nC0 1n + nC1 1n

nC
0+
nC
1+
nC
2+
1 + nC2 1n 2
12 + + nCn 1n
+ nCn = 2n
The LHS of this expression is nothing but the number of ways of selecting none,
some or all elements from a set of n elements.
Example 45:
If you have to select none or some or all rings from a bag containing 7 different
coloured rings, then in how many ways can you do this?
Solution:
We need to select 0 or 1 or 2 or 7 rings from the bag.
This can be done in
7C + 7C + 7C + 7C +
0
1
2
3
+ 7C7 = 27 = 128 ways.
Example 46:
10 candidates appear for an interview for the post of a programmer. It is known
that the company will definitely recruit at least one among them. In how many
different ways can the recruitments happen?
Solution:
The company can recruit 1 or 2 or 3 or or 10 candidates.
This can be done in
35/39
29/09/2013
10C
1+
10C
2+
10C
3+
+ 10C10 = 210
10C
0
= 1024 1 = 1023 different ways.
Some More Useful Rules Involving Combinations

The number of ways in which n identical things can be divided in r groups when
each person may get any number of things, including zero = (n + r 1)C(r 1)
The number of ways in which n identical things can be divided in r groups when
each person may get at least one thing = (n
1)C
(r
1)
Example 47:
In how many ways can 24 chocolates be distributed among 4 children such that
each one of them gets some or none?
Solution:
The number of distributions is (24 + 4 1)C(4 1) = 27C3 = 2925
Example 48:
How many solutions does the equation x + y + z = 10 have, if x, y and z are natural
numbers?
Solution:
We can compare this to a problem of distributing 10 chocolates (each chocolate
corresponds to the number 1) among 3 people so that each person has at least
one chocolate.
Thus the number of solutions of this equation is given by 10 1C3 1 = 9C2 = 36
Example 49:
The number of distinct terms in the expansion of (X + Y + Z + W)30 are:
[IIFT 2009]
36/39
29/09/2013
(1) 4060
(2) 5456
(3) 27405
(4) 46376
Solution:
All the terms in the expansion of (X + Y + Z + W)30 are of the form k.Xa.Yb.Zc.Wd
Where a + b + c + d = 30
The number of terms in the expansion is equal to the number of positive integer
solutions of the equation a + b + c + d = 30
The number of solutions of this equation is given by
n
+ r 1Cr 1, where n = 30, r = 4

Number of solutions = 33C3 = 5456
Hence, option 2.
REMEMBER:
The fundamental principle of counting says that, if we can accomplish one task
in x1 ways, another task in x2 ways, and so on, until the nth task which can be
done in xn ways, then all these tasks can be accomplished in x1 x2 x3 xn
ways.
The number of permutations of n objects taken r at a time is given by:
If n objects are to be arranged among themselves and these contain p identical

objects of one kind, q identical objects of another kind, r identical objects of
still another kind and so on, the total number of ways in which they can be
arranged is given by
The number of permutations of n different things taken r at a time when

repetition is allowed
37/39
29/09/2013
=n
. r times = nr
The number of ways in which n objects can be arranged in a circle when

clockwise and anticlockwise arrangements are different
= (n 1)!
The number of ways in which n objects can be arranged in a circle when
clockwise and anticlockwise arrangements are same
= (n 1)!/2
The number of distinct derangements of n objects is
Number of selections of k consecutive things out of n things in a row

=n
k+1
The number of combinations of n objects taken r at a time is given by
nP = nCr
r
nC
r=
nC
r!
r
When n is even, the value of nCr is greatest, when

r = n/2
When n is odd, the value of nCr is greatest, when
r = (n + 1)/2 or (n
1)/2
If nCx =nCy then x = y or x + y = n

nC
nC
nC
r=
0+
1Cr + n
1+
nC
2+
1Cr 1
+ nCn = 2n
The number of ways in which n identical things can be divided in r groups

when each person may get any number of things, including zero
= (n + r 1)C(r 1)
38/39
29/09/2013
The number of ways in which n identical things can be divided in r groups

when each person may get at least one thing
= (n
1)C
(r
1)
The number of ways of dividing m + n things in two groups containing m and n

things is
The number of ways of dividing n distinct things into r distinct groups such
that some groups may be empty is r n.
The number of ways of selection of m consecutive things out of n things in a
circle
= n when m < n
= 1 when m = n
********************************* End of Lesson *********************************
39/39

Permutations and Combinations

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Permutations and Combinations

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

29/09/2013