1 Counting In this chapter you

will learn:
• how to break down

principles complicated questions

into parts that are
easier to count, and
then combine them
together
Introductory problem
• how to count the
If a computer can print a line containing all 26 letters number of ways to
of the alphabet in 0.01 seconds, estimate how long it arrange a set of objects
would take to print all possible permutations of
the alphabet. • the algebraic
properties of a useful
new tool called the
Counting is one of the first things we learn in mathematics factorial function
and at first it seems very simple. If you were asked to count • in how many ways you
how many people there are in your school, this would not be can choose objects
too tricky. If you were asked how many chess matches would from a group
need to be played if everyone were to play everyone else, this
would be a little more complicated. If you were asked how • strategies for applying
many different football teams could be chosen, you might these tools to harder
find that the numbers become far too large to count without problems.
coming up with some clever tricks. This chapter aims to help
develop strategies for counting in such difficult situations.

1A The product principle and the Counting sometimes

addition principle gets extremely difficult.
Are there more whole
Counting very small groups is easy. So, we need to break down
numbers or odd numbers;
more complicated problems into counting small groups. But fractions or decimals? Have
how do we then combine these together to come up with an a look at the work of Georg
answer to the overall problem? The answer lies in using the Cantor, and the result may
product principle and the addition principle, which can be surprise you!
illustrated using the following menu.

© Cambridge University Press 2012 1 Counting principles 1