Name: _Shea Davis_

POW #3 - Code Lock Riddle

Problem Statement -

There is a three digit combination that needs to be solved. We have the numbers 0

through 9 to plug in in any combination. The only catch is that sets of numbers that are the

same all count as the same combination. For example: 123, 321, 213, etc. All of these would be

the same combination. How can we find the number of combinations available? As an

extension, how would this look with a lock of 4 digits?

Process/Evaluation -

This problem stumped me for a long while. We had been learning about combination and

permutation equations for a week or so before starting this POW, so I assumed it had something

to do with either of these equations. My first step was to find my n and my r. I realized my n

would be 10, because it was the number of options I had to choose from whereas my r would be

3 because it is the amount of numbers I am choosing from. I believed the entire problem could

be solved using one permutation equation. I would plug in 10 as the n and 3 as the r. I began to

discuss my findings with my table-mate Sam and they suggested the combination lock might be

a combination and not a permutation. This was a lapse in judgment on my part. It seemed

obvious once I actually thought about it because the numbers used could be in any combination

within the code, which is a trait of a combination.

As I spoke with Sam more, we realized there were different types of r’s within the

problem. With an r of three we would be choosing 3 different numbers, which wouldn’t account

for 123 or 122 as options. This meant we would have to have multiple r’s and multiple

combination equations. We decided to start with sets of one number first. We plugged r as 1 into

the combination equation we had. This is generally n!(factorial)/r!(n-r)!. Our equation was

10!/1!(9!). Because 10!-9! Is 1! We found that it came out to 10/1 which is just 10. If we only
have 10 options to choose from, and we can only choose one for each time, then we will have

10, which makes sense.

Finding the answer to the second situation was a lot more difficult because of reasons

we didn’t foresee. We started out doing it the same way as with the first, plugging in the new r

into the combination equation. We plugged in 2 as our new r because we were drawing from 2

numbers, such as 122 or 100 or 330. This came out to be 10!/2!(8!). In the end it was 10*9/2,

which comes out to be 45 combinations. At the time we thought this would be the end of that.

So far we had 10 and 45 as two numbers of combinations. We solved the rest of the problem

and spoke with John who told us that we were false because of something in r=2. He pointed

out that it might have something to do with the amount of certain numbers in the combination.

Sam and I thought this through for a while and went back to investigate. We determined that

there was in fact something we missed. When you have two sets of numbers and 3 slots for the

combination, it gives us two possible combinations. Because of the catch in the problem

statement, sets with the same numbers are equal, but this changes in regards to the amount of

each number. For example, we found 110 and 001 are two different combinations and one might

open the lock whereas the other might not. To solve this we decided to multiply the total we got

by two, coming out to be 90. John pointed out that this was correct and that we had fallen on the

correct reasoning.
 The next and final set for a combination of 3 is r=3. This is 3 different numbers being

drawn for the lock. We set 3 as the r and plugged it into the combination equation. 10!/3!(7!).

This came out to be 10*9*8/6. This is 720/6 which is 120. We thought that maybe a similar thing

might happen to this combination as the r=2 combination, so we wrote out a list of 123. We

found that you can only have 3 different numbers in a 3 combo lock for 3 different numbers, for

example 123 is the same as 312 and 231.

Our final answer was 10+90+120 which came out to be 220.

Sam and I decided we wanted to do the honors problem as well. This was finding the

number of combinations for a 4 digit combination lock. We realized there would be a very similar

process for this as the previous question. Our first step was to find the answer for r=1. This

would be the exact same answer and equation as the previous r=1. This means if we are using

only 1 number from the combination lock, such as 1111 or 2222, there are only 10 possible

combinations.
 Things got tricky again when we tried to solve for r=2. We went through the same

process as before and again got 45 as our final answer, but we had learned from our previous

process. Because of this, we decided to write out some of the combinations. We found there

were 3 different ways to have 2 numbers in a 4 digit combination lock. For example, 1100, 1000,

and 1110. These would all be different combinations in the lock, so we multiplied the final

answer by 3, getting 135 different combinations for r=2.

The next step was to solve for r=3. We plugged it in and got the same answer again,

120. We decided to check this again as well and found we could also make 3 different

combinations with an r=3. For example, 1123, 2213, and 3321 are all different combinations. We

again multiplied our final answer by 3 to get 360.

 We then solved for r=4, which when plugged in comes out to be 210 different

combinations. When checking we found that we couldn’t make more than one combination with

each set of 4 numbers. 1234 can’t be shifted or more numbers added to get a new

combinations.

At this time I noticed that the first and final r’s of both problems didn’t need to be

multiplied by anything, they both could only fit the amount their equation gave us. Also at this

time Brayden was drawing Pascal’s Triangle on the white board in John’s room and as I asked

John about my answers, he pointed it out. John explained to me that Pascal’s Triangle

correlated with how much we multiply each answer by.

 As you can see in this image of Pascal’s Triangle, we multiply the third row by 1, 2, and

then 1. This also solidifies my idea of the first and last numbers not being multiplied, because

the first and last numbers in Pascal’s Triangle are both 1s.

Solution -

There are a total of 220 combinations for a 3 digit combination lock. There are a total of

715 combinations for a 4 digit combination lock.

Reflection/Evaluation -

This POW was difficult for me but it was also incredibly fun because I grew to

understand the problem and my answers. I spoke with a number of other people and asked

them about their processes. These people stated that they didn’t use the combination equations

and instead wrote out all of the possible combinations for each set of locks. This idea never

occurred to me, but I assume if I hadn’t spoken with Sam and found the way we did it, I would

have solved it similarly. This was a very brute force way of solving it and if I were to go back and

do the POW again, I would like to look at it more. I glimpsed this process a few times, once with

Pierce, who solved it with Caleb by putting everything in a huge doc and counting it all out. This

took them a few days to write out. Maddie did a similar process and showed me what she

accomplished. This was how I used to find the answers to problems before we learned about

the combination and permutation equations. While solving this POW I felt really good about my

answers and the way I solved it all. It felt efficient and like I was really using what we learned in

class to the best of my ability. I usually feel this way when we have problems that I know how to

do well, like some algebra that has clear cut answers and steps to solve. I would like to know

more about how everything here relates to Pascal’s Triangle and what Pascal’s Triangle might

be used for? What was its original purpose? I will speak with John about this and have him

answer some of my questions. In the future I would like to learn how to totally bypass this whole

issue by learning to pick locks.

Rubric:
 Self-Grade Points
Problem Statement: The problem statement should be a condensed
version of what the problem says in your own words. You should be
able to give this to another teacher and they should have an idea of /2
what you are trying to solve. This should also include some sort of
mathematical language.
Process/Work: This section is the bulk of the write up. This should
clearly describe all of the methods that you tried in detail. If a method
was unsuccessful, what did you learn from it and how did it shape your
approach? This should show your method from the start to finish
whether or not you were able to find a solution. If you received
assistance, describe how it helped (or didn’t help) you and what ideas
/4
or methods resulted from this assistance. This is for you to show me
your thinking and the direction that you went with the problem. Does
not need to include who you got assistance from, exactly what you did,
but should be mathematically what you solved and why.
Solution: Clearly state your answer. State your solution as a sentence
that states what you solved and what the answer is.
/2
Evaluation: Describe your work on the POW. What did you learn
about while working through this POW.
/2
/10