Addition Principle

If I order one vegetable from Blaise's Bistro, how many vegetable choices does Blaise
offer?
Here we select one item from a collection of items. Because there are no common
items among the two sets Blaise has called Greens and Potatoes, we can pool the
items into one large set. We use addition, here 4+5, to determine the total number of
items to choose from.
This illustrates the Addition Principle:
If a choice from Group I can be made in n ways and a choice from Group II can be
made in m ways, then the number of choices possible from Group I or Group II is
n+m. Condition:None of the elements in Group I are the same as elements in Group
II.
This can be generalized to a single selection from more than two groups, again with
the condition that all groups, or sets, are disjoint, that is, have nothing in common.
Examples to illustrate the Addition Principle:
Here are three sets of letters, call them sets I, II, and III:
Set I: {a,m,r}
Set II: {b,d,i,l,u}
Set III: {c,e,n,t}
How many ways are there to choose one letter from among the sets I, II, or III? Note
that the three sets are disjoint, or mutually exclusive: there are no common elements
among the three sets.
Here are two sets of positive integers:
A={2,3,5,7,11,13}
B={2,4,6,8,10,12}.

How many ways are there to choose one integer from among the sets A or B? Note
that the two sets are not disjoint. What modification can we make to the Addition
Principle to accommodate this case? Write that modification.
Multiplication Principle
A "meal" at the Bistro consists of one soup item, one meat item, one green vegetable,
and one dessert item from the a-la-karte menu. If Blaise's friend Pierre always orders
such a meal, how many different meals can be created?
We can enumerate the meals that are possible, preferably in some organized way to
assure that we have considered all possibilities. Here is a sketch of one such
enumeration, where {V,O}, {K,R}, {S,P,B,I}, and {L,A,C,F} represent the items to be
chosen from the soup, meat, green vegetable, and dessert menus, respectively.
VKSL
VKSA
VKSC
VKSF

VKPL
VKPA
VKPC
VKPF

VKBL
VKBA
VKBC
VKBF

VKIL
VKIA
VKIC
VKIF

...and so on to...
.
.
.

ORIL
ORIA
ORIC
ORIF

Note and be prepared to describe the enumeration process I have illustrated here.
How else could we complete the count without identifying all possible options?
A map or tree to illustrate the enumeration process provides a bridge to such a
method.
We have two ways to select a soup item, two ways to select a meat item, four green
vegetables to choose from, and four desserts to choose from. The matching of one
soup with each meat, then each of those pairs with each of four possible green
vegetables, and each of those triples with each of four possible desserts leads to the
use of multiplication as a quick way to count all the possible meals we could assemble
at Blaise's.
The Rule of Sum If a sequence of tasks T1, T2, , Tm can be done in w1, w2,
wm ways respectively (the condition is that no tasks can be performed
simultaneously), then the number of ways to do one of these tasks is w 1+w2+
+wm. If we consider two tasks A and B which are disjoint (i.e. A B = ), then
mathematically |A B| = |A| + |B|

Question 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?
Solution From X to Y, he can go in 3+2 = 5 ways (Rule of Sum).
Thereafter, he can go Y to Z in 4+5 = 9 ways (Rule of Sum). Hence from X
to Z he can go in 59 = 45 ways (Rule of Product).

Sum Rule Suppose that an operation can be performed by either of two different procedures,
with m possible outcomes for the first procedure and n possible outcomes for the
second. If the two sets of possible outcomes are disjoint, then the number of possible
outcomes for the operation is m + n.
Example
1:

A scholarship is available, and the student to receive this scholarship must be chosen
from the Mathematics, Computer Science, or the Engineering Department. How
many different choices are there for this student if there are 38 qualified students
from the Mathematics Department, 45 qualified students from the Computer Science
Department and 27 qualified students from the Engineering Department?

Solution: The procedure of choosing a student from the Mathematics Department has 38
possible outcomes, the procedure of choosing a student from the Computer Science
Department has 45 possible outcomes, and the procedure of choosing a student from
the Engineering Department has 27 possible outcomes. Therefore, there are (38 + 45
+ 27 ) 110 possible choices for the student to receive the scholarship.

The difference between the sum and the product rule can be comprehended by considering
a simple example:
Sum Rule illustration
Roger Federer has to play an exhibition match in England.The possible locations where the
match can be played are Surrey,Nottingham,Manchester and Barnstaple.
No. of tennis courts in Surrey=44
No. of tennis courts in Nottingham=77
No. of tennis courts in Manchester = 55
No. of tennis courts in Barnstaple =22

The total no. of possible locations where the exhibition match can be
held=4+7+5+2=18

The rule of sums is used when out of a number of tasks to be carried out, it is enough to
carry out only one of them.
For e.g. Say you at a cafe and you want something to either eat or drink but not both. If
there are m drinks and n snacks, then you can choose something to eat or drink in m+n
ways.
The rule of products is used when it is necessary to perform a number of tasks (each of
which can be done in a particular number of ways) successively.
Say you're at the cafe again, but now you want something to eat and to drink as well. For
every drink you choose, you can choose any one of the n snacks to eat. There are m drinks in
total , so the total number of ways in which you can have something to both eat and drink is
m*n.

Sum Rule
If A and B are disjoint, i.e., if A B = , then

(1)

|A B| = |A| + |B|.

Comment: behind the set-theoretic symbolism stands a simple fact without which counting would
be impossible: it does not matter how you count, i.e., as long as you do not make a mistake of, say,
missing an object or counting an object twice. It says this: if before counting objects one splits them
into two groups and then counts the elements of one of the groups before proceeding to count the
elements of the other, the result will be the same - the total number of objects to be counted.
(Naturally, it does not depend on how the objects have been split into two groups.)

n a class of 30 students, there are 16 boys and 14 girls (16 + 14 = 30). Of these, 23 persons wear
pants and only 7 wear skirts (23 + 7 = 30). On the last exam 20 students received a passing grade,
while 10 failed (20 + 10 = 30).
By induction, the sum rule is easily extended to any finite number of mutually disjoint sets:

(1')

|A B C D ...| = |A| + |B| + |C| + |D| + ...

Example 2
An electronic book of 472 pages has been stored in separate files - 1 file per page - in two folders.
One folder contained 305 files, the other 167 files (305 + 167 = 472.)