COUNTING

TECHNIQUES
FACTORIAL
The factorial function (symbol: !)
says to multiply all whole
numbers from our chosen number
down to 1.
EXAMPLE : EVALUATE THE
VALUE OF THE FOLLOWING:
a.5!
b.7!
c.10!
SOLUTION:
ACTIVITY 1
FIND THE FACTORIAL OF
GIVEN NUMBERS.
ANSWERS:
PERMUTATION
The term permutation refers to the arrangement of objects with reference to order.
Given The total number of permutation of n objects taken r at a time is represented
by the notation.
a set with n objects, then we can take r objects from the set.

= permutation
total number of
=
objects
number of objects
=
selected
FIND THE PERMUTATION:
Suppose the value of n=7 and r=3. Then the permutation of 7 objects taken 3 at a
time is equal to
ACTIVITY 2
ANSWERS:
EVALUATE:
ANSWERS:
EXAMPLE 2:

In how many ways can a

president, a vice president, a
secretary and a treasurer be elected
from a class with 39 students?
SOLUTION:
Given 39 students ,we are going to fill 4 distinct positions: Hence , n= 39
and r =4.

=
ACTIVITY 2:

1. In how many ways can 8

individuals be seated in a row 8
chairs?
2. In how many ways can 9 distinct
books be arranged in a shelf?
SOLUTION #1

=
SOLUTION # 2

=
PERMUTATION WITH
THINGS THAT ARE ALIKE
The number of permutations of n objects taken
altogether,where r1 are of one kind, r2 are the other
kind and so on is given by
EXAMPLE

Determine the number of

permutations that can be formed using
the letters of the word DADDY.
SOLUTION:

=
ACTIVITY 3
1. Determine the possible permutations of the
word HOLY GRAIL.
2. Find how many ways are there to order the
letters MATHEMATICS.
3. Find the total 7 digits numbers can be formed
using all the digits in the ff: numerals
5771535.
ANSWERS:
1. 181,400 ways
2. The letters of the word MATHEMATICS can be
arranged in 4989600 distinct ways.
3. 420 ways
CIRCULAR
PERMUTATIONS
If n distinct objects are arranged in a circle ,then
the arrangement is known as circular permutation.
The number of circular permutation of N objects
taken altogether is
Pn
EXAMPLE

In how many ways can 6 individuals

be seated in a round table with 6
chairs?
SOLUTION
Pn
P6
P6
P6
¿ 120 𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠
ACTIVITY 4
In how many ways can seven
different colored beads be made
into a bracelet?
ANSWER

1.720 ways
COMBINATIONS
A combination is all about grouping. The number of different
groups which can be formed from the available things can be
calculated using combinations. 

Where;
n= the total number of elements in a set
r= the number of selected objects( the
order of the objects is not important)
! = factorial
EVALUATE: WHEN N=5 AND R
= 2.
Solution:

5 C2= Answer= 10

5!
2! 3!
=
120
2∗ 6
TRY THIS ONE!
1. In how many ways can a committee of 3
members be chose from a group with 6
members?
2. A class consists of 5 boys and 7 girls.
a) In how many ways can the class elect 3
members of a certain committee?
ANSWER
1. 20 ways
2.220 ways
 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
PERMUTATION AND
COMBINATION
A permutation is a method of arranging all the
members in order. The combination is
selection of elements from a collection.
QUIZ ( PERMUTATION AND
COMBINATION)
1. A class consist of 12 boys and 13 girls
a) In how many ways can the class elect the muse, treasurer, an
auditor and sgt.at arms?
b) In how many ways can class elect 4 members of a certain
committee?
2. In how many ways can a student answer 5 out of 8 questions?
3.In how many ways can 2 balls be drawn from a box containing 7
red and 6 green balls?
ANSWERS:
1. A) 303,600 ways b) 12,650
2. 56 ways
3. 78 ways
PROBABILITY
CONCEPT OF PROBABILITY
In the study of probability, we shall consider
activities for which the outcome cannot be
predicted with certainty,. These activities, called
experiment, could always result in a single
outcome.
A random experiment is a mechanism that produces a
definite outcome that cannot be predicted with certainty.
The sample space associated with a random experiment
is the set of all possible outcomes.
An event is a subset of the sample space.
Each individual element or outcome in a sample space is
known as sample point.
EXAMPLE 1
1. Consider the activity of rolling a die. This activity has 6
possible outcomes, that is ,1,2,3,4,5, and 6.
S= 1,2,3,4,5,6
If we let A be the event of getting an odd number and B
an event getting a perfect square.
A= 1,3,5 B= 2,4
TRY THIS ONE!
If a pair of dice is rolled, then determine the
number of sample points of the following:
A) sample space
B) event getting the sum of 5
C) event getting the sum of at most 4
SOLUTION
A. Let n1 be the possible outcomes for first and second die,
n1= 6 and n2 = 6; n(S) = 6*6= 36
B. Let A be the event of getting a sum of 5.
A= (1,4),(4,1),(2,3),(3,2)
N(A)= 4
C. Let B be the event getting a sum of at most 4.
B= (1,1),(1,2),(1,3),(2,1),(2,2),(3,1)
N(B)= 6
 THREE APPROACHES OF
PROBABILITY
1. Subjective Probability
2. Probability of the Relative Frequency
3. Classical Probability
Subjective Probability

oThe probability of an event determined based

on an individual’s experience or perception.
This approach does not require extensive data
to support one’s judgement but simply
expresses the strength of one’s belief with
regard to uncertainties involved.
EXAMPLES
1. I think that the president has a 25% chance of being elected
again.
2. A friend applies for a job with three other candidates. As they
all seem equally qualified, you think there’s a 25% chance your
friend will get the job.
3. You think there’s a 90% chance someone will land on Mars in
the next ten years.
PROBABILITY OF THE
RELATIVE FREQUENCY
Relative frequency or experimental probability
is calculated from the number of times an event
happens, divided by the total number of trials in
an actual experiment.
Formula:
EXAMPLES

1. Records show that 100 out of 1500

students who entered in a certain college
leave the school due to financial problem.
What can we say about the probability
that a freshman entering this college will
leave the school due to financial reason?
SOLUTION
1. Let A be the event that a freshman will leave the
college due to financial reason.
P( A) =

of the freshmen students are expected leave the school

due to financial reason. In terms of probability the chance
that a student will leave the school is 0.667.
TRY THIS ONE!
1. If a machine produces 10,000 widgets one at a time,
and 1,000 of those widgets are faulty.
2. A coin is tossed 20 times and lands 15 time on heads.
What is the relative frequency of observing the coin
land on heads?
3. A die is tossed 40 times and lands 6 times on the
number 4. What is the relative frequency of observing
the die land on the number 4?
ANSWERS
1. The probability of that machine producing a faulty widget is
approximately 1,000 out of 10,000, or 0.10.
2. The relative frequency of observing the coin land on heads is
0.75.
3. The relative frequency of observing the die land on the number
4 is 0.15
 CLASSICAL PROBABILITY
• Let S be the set of all equally likely outcomes to a random experiment.
(S is called the sample space for the experiment.) Let E be some
particular outcome or combination of outcomes to the experiment. (E
is called an event.) The probability of E is denoted P(E)
EXAMPLE
ACTIVITY
1. An office employs seven women and five men. One employee
will be randomly selected to receive a free lunch with the boss.
What is the probability that the selected employee will be a
woman?
2. Of those 21 possible story lines, 12 were about Elvis. What is
the probability that a randomly selected story will be about
Elvis?
SOLUTIONS
1. If person is selected there are 12 possible equally likely
outcomes. Seven of these 12 people are women, so
P(woman is selected) =
0.583
2. If one story line is randomly selected or generated, the
probability that it is about Elvis is or 0.571.
HOW TO DETERMINE
THE PROBABILITY OF
DRAWING A CARD?
EXAMPLE
1.  What is the probability of drawing a king
from a deck of cards?
SOLUTION:
Total number of outcomes = 52
The number of favorable outcomes = 4 (as there are 4
kings in a deck)
Hence, the probability of this event occurring is 
P(drawing a king from a deck of cards) =
=
TRY THIS!

2. What is the probability of drawing a

black card from a pack of cards?
SOLUTION
The total number of outcomes = 52
The number of favorable outcomes = 26
P(E) =

Answer: Probability of drawing a black card from a pack of cards is 1/2 or 0.5
SEATWORK
1. Jessica has drawn a card from a well-shuffled deck.
Help her find the probability of the card either being
red or a King.
2. From a shuffled pack of cards, John picks up one card
at random. What is the probability of it being a hearts'
card?
ANSWERS
1.The correct number of outcomes which are favorable to E is
26(red cards) + 4( Kings) – 2( red kings) = 28

P(E) =

 Answer: Probability of card either being red or a King card is or 0.538

2. P( E) =
=¼