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Fundamental Counting Principle
Fundamental Counting Principle
Counting Principles
and Probability
The Fundamental Counting Principle states that
if one event can occur m ways and a second event
can occur n ways, the number of ways the two
events can occur in sequence is m • n.
Start
1st Coin
Tossed
Heads Tails 2 ways to flip the coin.
2nd Coin
Tossed
Heads Tails Heads Tails 2 ways to flip the coin.
# of # of # of
main dishes side dishes desserts
4 2 5 = 40
SOLUTION:
The two independent events are: choosing the 1st
app from the 24 options, and choosing the 2nd app from
the 23 options left after the 1st selection is made.
1st app 2nd app
24 options 23 options
3! = 3 • 2 • 1
= 6 permutations
“factorial”
5 • 4 • 3 = 60 ways
P P 5! 5 4 3 2 1 60
n r 5 3
2! 2 1
STATS
Example continues.
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 14
The number of distinguishable permutations of
the n objects is
n!
n1! n2 ! n3 ! nk !
where n = n1 + n2 + n3 + . . . + nk.
C C 4! 4 3 2 1 6
n r 4 2
2!2! 2 1 2 1
3
C C 10! 10 9 8 7 6! 210
n r 10 6
4!6! 4 3 2 1 6!
5 P3
10 C6