Counting Techniques and

Permutation
Complete?

COUNTING TECHNIQUES

1. A prospective buyer is choosing between manual and automatic

transmissions, four body style, and five colors: red, green, gray, blue,
and black. How many choices does the buyer have?

4(5)(2)= 40 choices

2. The modern banking scheme allows a person to withdraw or deposit in

ATM using bank cards with PIN codes consisting of either four or six
digits. How many possible PIN codes are there if a bank allows only four
digits for PIN codes?

10^4= 10,000 codes

3. Is it really easy to guess in a multiple-choice test? Suppose that you

take a multiple-choice test that has 10 questions. Each of the questions
has four choices, with exactly one correct answer per question. If you
answer every question,
a. In how many ways can you answer the test? 4^10= 1048576
b. In how many ways can you get a perfect score in this test? 1 (??)

4. How many three-digit numbers can be formed from the digits

0,1,3,5,7,8 and 9 if
a. Each digit can be used more than once? 6x7x7= 294
b. Each digit can be used only once? 6 x 6 x 5= 180

5. How many four-digit numbers can be formed from the digits 1,2,5,6,
and 8 if

Counting Techniques and Permutation 1

 a. The numbers are even and repetition of digits is not allowed? 72
b. The numbers are odd and repetition of digits is allowed? 5 x 5 x 5 x 2= 250

6. How many different improper fractions can be formed from the digits
1,2,3,4, and 5? 10 improper fractions

PERMUTATION

arrangement of things in a definite order.

FORMULA: n!/(n − r)!

Examples:

1. Evaluate
a. 3! = 6
b. 7! = 5040

2. In how many ways can two parents and three children be arranged in a
line for a family picture?

5! = 120

3. In how many ways can six students line up if

a. Two students want to stand next to each other?
2*(5!) = 240
b. Two students refuse to stand next to each other?
4! (5,2)= 480

or 6! - 240

1. In a school presentation, three boys and three girls decided to arrange

themselves on the stage.
a. In how many ways can they arrange themselves in a row if boys and
girls are alternate?

Counting Techniques and Permutation 2

 b. In how many ways can they arrange themselves in a row if all the three
girls stand together and all the three boys stand together?

5. Three awards (first, second, and third) will be given to five finalists in a
beauty pageant. If each finalist can receive at most one award, how
many possible selections are there?
5x4x3= 60

6. In how many ways can six children be seated in a row of

a. Ten chairs?
P(10,6)= 151,200

b. Six chairs?
6! = 720

7. A president and a treasurer are to be chosen from a faculty club

composed of 50 teachers. How many different choices are possible

Counting Techniques and Permutation 3

 if
a. There are no restrictions?
50 x 49= 2450
b. Pedro, one of the 50 teachers, will only serve if he is president?

1 x 49= 49

49 x 48= 2352

2352 + 49= 2401

c. Gani and Bless, two of the 50 teachers, will serve together or not
at all?

Case 1 (together) P(2,2)= 2

Case 2 (not at all) 48 x 47= 2256

2+2256= 2258

d. Gloria and Susan will not serve together?

49 x 48 (not possible)

1 x 48 = 48 (Gloria is president)

1 x 48 = 48 (Susan is president)

48 x 1 = 48 (Gloria is treasurer)
48 x 1= 48 (Susan is treasurer)

both not elected → 48 x 47= 2256

2256 + (48 x 4)= 2448

another way

opposite → both of them will serve

no restrictions - both will serve= 2450- 2= 2448

CIRCULAR PERMUTATION

(n − 1)!

Counting Techniques and Permutation 4

 1. In how many ways can seven students be seated at a round table?

(7-1)! = 720

2. Eight children stand in a circle to play a game. In how many ways can
this be done if three of them insist on standing next to one another?
(5-1)!(3!)= 720

The number of circular permutations of different beads on a necklace (or

keys on a ring) is

(n − 1)!/2

Example:

1. In how many different ways can five different beads and four different
stones be placed on a string to make a bracelet if the beads and stones
must alternate?
(not possible bc not equal number of beads and stones)

DISTINGUISHABLE PERMUTATION

when some objects are alike

repetitions not allowed

Formula:

total!/r!s!
1. How many distinguishable permutations of the letter are there in the word
STAT?

4!/ 2! = 12

Counting Techniques and Permutation 5

 2. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the 10 letters of the word
Statistics.

10!/3! 3! 2! = 50,400

3. How many different signal lights can be made with six colored bulbs
arranged in a row with a set of three indistinguishable green bulbs, two
indistinguishable red bulbs, and a yellow bulb?

6!/ 5! (2!)= 60

PARTITIONING FORMULA

a partition of a set is a collection of mutually exclusive disjoint subsets of the set

whose union is the set itself.

1. In how many ways can eight different toys be distributed to a girl and two
boys if the girls gets four toys and each of the two boys gets two toys?

8!/(8-4)!(2!)(2!)= 420

2. In how many ways can five teachers be accommodated in three hotel

rooms where one is a private room and the others are rooms for two?

5!/1!(2!)(2!)= 30

3. Twelve people are going to the province for a vacation using a car and a
van that have a maximum capacity of 3 and 10, respectively. Give the total
number of possible ways of transporting the twelve people using the two
vehicles.

12!/3!(9!)= 220
12!/2!(10!)= 66

220+66= 286

NEVER TOGETHER FORMULA

Counting Techniques and Permutation 6

 # of ways they can be arranged w/o condition
MINUS # of ways they want to stand next to each other

Counting Techniques and Permutation 7