Choosing Doughnuts

How many ways can we select n doughnuts with k varieties?

Suppose there is only chocolate doughnuts.

How many ways can we select n doughnuts?

Well there is only one way to choose zero, one, two, three, ……, chocolate doughnuts.

So the generating function for choosing chocolate doughnuts is:

The generating function for choosing doughnuts with k varieties is:

By convolution rule:
 Choosing Doughnuts

The generating function for choosing doughnuts with k varieties is:

By convolution rule:

Now what? How do we obtain the answer?

Taylor’s Theorem

where f(n)(x) is the n-th derivative of f(x).

Taylor’s Theorem
 Choosing Doughnuts

The generating function for choosing doughnuts with k varieties is:

……
 Choosing Doughnuts

The generating function for choosing doughnuts with k varieties is:

The number of ways to choose n doughnuts with k varieties is:

This is what we get before. Now there is a general method to derive it.
 Choosing Fruits

How many ways can we fill a bag with n fruits with the following constraints?

• The number of apples must be even.

• The number of bananas must be a multiple of 5.
• There can be at most four oranges.
• There can be at most one pear.

For example, there are 7 ways to form a bag with 6 fruits

 Choosing Fruits
• The number of apples must be even.
• The number of bananas must be a multiple of 5.
• There can be at most four oranges.
• There can be at most one pear.

GF for apples:

GF for bananas:

GF for oranges:

GF for pears: By convolution rule

GF for fruits:
 Choosing Fruits

Generating function for fruits:

How many ways can we fill a bag with n fruits with the following constraints?

The answer is exactly n+1!

We solve an impossible counting problem in a routine way…

Solving Recurrences with Generating Functions

The Rabbit Population

• A mature boy/girl rabbit pair reproduces every month.

• Rabbits mature after one month.

wn::= # newborn pairs after n months

rn::= # reproducing pairs after n months

• Start with a newborn pair: w0 =1, r0 = 0

 Rabbit Populations

wn::= # newborn pairs after n months

rn::= # reproducing pairs after n months

r1 = 1

rn = rn-1 + wn-1

wn = rn-1 so

rn = rn-1 + rn-2

How many rabbits after n months?

It was Fibonacci who was studying rabbit population growth.

 Fibonacci Sequence

The Fibonacci sequence we want to analyze is:

Define a generating function for this sequence:

Remember

First we want to obtain a closed form for R(x)

 Generating Function for Rabbits

R(x)::= r0+r1x+r2 +r3x +…

3 x 2

-xR(x) = - r0x-r1x -r2x -…

2 3

-x R(x) =
2 -r0x -r1x -…
2 3

0
Remember
 Generating Function for Rabbits

R(x)::= r0+r1x+r2 +r3x +…

3 x 2

-xR(x) = - r0x-r1x -r2x -…

2 3

-x R(x) =
2 -r0x -r1x -…
2 3

0 0 …
 Generating Function for Rabbits

R(x)::= r0+r1x
-xR(x) = - r0x
-x R(x) =
2

R(x)-xR(x)-x R(x)
2 =
r0+r1x-r0x = x
 Closed Form for R(x)

What is the closed form of rn?

So rn = coefficient of xn in R(x)
 Closed Form for Coefficients

So rn = coefficient of xn in R(x)
 Tower of Hanoi

Post #1 Post #2 Post #3

Move1,2(n)::= Move1,3(n-1);
big disk 12;
Move3,2(n-1)
http://www.mazeworks.com/hanoi/
 Generating Function

sn::=# steps by Move1,2(n)

sn = 2sn-1 + 1

s0 = 0

The sequence we want to analyze is:

Define a generating function for this sequence:

First we want to obtain a closed form for S(x)

 Generating Function

S(x)::= s0+ s1x+ s2x2 + s3x3+…

-2xS(x)= -2s0x-2s1x -2s2x -…
2 3

-x/(1-x)= -1¢x - 1¢x2 - 1¢x3-…

0 0 0 …

sn = 2sn-1 + 1
 Closed Form for S(x)

S(x) - 2xS(x) - x/(1-x) = s0 = 0

What is the closed form of sn?

so sn = 2n - 1
 Catalan Number

Catalan number can be defined recursively by

We are going to show this is equal to