Lecture Notes in
Math 123e (Advance College Algebra)
CHAPTER 13: PERMUTATIONS, COMBINATIONS, AND PROBABILITY
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE
If a thing can be done in any of m different ways
and then a second thing can be done in any of n different
ways, it follows that the total number of different ways
in which the first and then the second thing can be done
is m times n.
Exercises:
1. How many two-digit numbers can be made with the
digits 2, 4, 6, 8 if (a) repetitions are allowed; (b) no
digit is to be repeated in a number?
2. How many three-digit numbers can be made with the
digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 if (a) repetitions are allowed; (b) no
digit is to be repeated in a number?
3. How many four-digit numbers, each less than 5000,
can be formed with the digits 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 if (a)
repetitions are allowed; (b) no repetitions are
allowed?
4. How many committees consisting of 1 freshman, 1
sophomore, and 1 junior can be selected from 40
freshmen, 30 sophomores, and 25 juniors?
5. Five boys are in a room which has 4 doors. In how
many different ways can they leave the room?
6. How many signals can be made with 5 different kinds
of flags placed on a flagpole one under the other from
the highest by using (a) all the flags, (b) exactly four
of the flags?
7. In how many ways can 3 people be seated in a room
where there are 7 seats?
8. Four couples are to eat at a round table with the men
and women alternating. If the hostess reserves a
place for herself, in how many ways can she assign
seats to the others?
9. A club has 21 members. In how many ways can a
president and a vice-president be elected from the
group if no member is eligible for both positions?
10. Towns A and B are connected by 3 roads and towns
B and C by 4 roads. In how many ways can one drive
from A to B to C and return to A via B if (a) the same
road is not to be traveled twice; (b) the same road
may be traveled twice?
11. Six books with different titles have green covers and
three books with different titles have red covers. In
how many ways can the nine books be arranged on a
shelf if (a) the red books are not to be separated, (b)
the green books are not to be separated, (c) books of
the same color are to be kept together?
PERMUTATIONS
An arrangement of objects in a definite order is
called a permutation of the objects.
Number of permutations of n things taken r at a time
P(n, r) = n (n 1) (n 2) . . . (n r +1)
n!
P(n, r) = ( nr ) !
Number of permutations of n things taken all at a time
Engr. KISSA P. BANAWIS
P(n, n) = n!
PERMUTATIONS OF THINGS NOT ALL
DIFFERENT
The number of permutations P of n things taken
all at a time, where n1 of the objects are alike and the
others distinct, is
n!
P= n1 !
This formula may be extended to the cases
where there are two, three, or more groups like objects
among the n objects. Thus
n!
P= n1 ! n 2 ! n3 ! . ..
Exercises:
1. Evaluate (a) P(7, 1); (b) P(7, 3); (c) P(7, 4); (d) P(7, 7)
2. Show that (a) P(5, 4) = P(5, 5); (b) P(6, 5) = P(6, 6);
(c) P(n, n 1) = P(n, n).
3. Find the number of permutations, each with 7 letter,
which can be made with the letters in (a)
WYOMING; (b) KENTUCKY; (c) WASHINGTON.
4. Find how many even numbers of three digits each can
be made with the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 if digits may be
repeated.
5. Seven songs are to be given in a program. In how
many different orders could be rendered?
6. In how many ways can 8 books be arranged on a shelf
if a certain 3 are (a) not be separated; (b) not to be
separated and left in a particular order?
7. Five different mathematics books, 4 different physics
books, and 2 different history books are to be placed
on a shelf with the books of each subject together.
Find the number of ways in which the books can be
placed.
8. Find the number of permutations which can be formed
by using all the letters in (a) ALABAMA; (b)
ARKANSAS; (c) MISSISSIPPI.
9. In how many ways is it possible for 10 customers to
buy 5 cans of peaches, 3 cans of pineapple, and 2
cans of tomatoes if each customer gets 1 can?
10. Find the number of ways 2 half dollars, 4 quarters,
and 6 dimes can be distributed among 12 boys if each
gets a coin?
11. Seven children join hands and form a circle. In how
many ways could the circle be formed? In how many
ways could they make a line?
12. Five boys and five girls form a line with the boys
and girls alternating. Find the number of ways of
making the line. How many different ways could
they form a circle in which the boys and girls
alternate?
13. In how many ways can 8 persons be seated at a
round table if a certain 2 are (a) to sit next to each
other; (b) not to sit next to each other?
COMBINATIONS
Lecture Notes in
Math 123e (Advance College Algebra)
A part or all of a set of objects is called a
combination. A combination differs from a permutation
in that it does not involve the order of selection or the
arrangement of the members.
Theorem. If C(n, r) stands for the number of
combinations of n things taken r at a time (r n), then
n ( n1 ) ( n2 ) . .. (nr+ 1)
C(n, r) = r!
Or, alternatively,
n!
C(n, r) = r ! ( nr ) !
Exercises:
1. Evaluate (a) C(31, 2); (b) C(26, 3); (c) C(24, 4); (d)
C(13, 5).
2. How many different ways can a tennis team of 4 be
chosen from 17 players?
3. Nine points, no three of which are on a straight line,
are marked on a blackboard. How many lines, each
through 2 of the points, can be drawn? How many
triangles are determined by the points?
4. Seven different coins are tossed simultaneously. In
how many ways can 3 heads and 4 tails come up?
5. In how many ways can a court of 9 judges make (a) a
5 to 4 decision; (b) a majority decision?
6. A committee of 7 is to be composed of 4 Republicans
and 3 Democrats. Find the number of choices if 7
Republicans and 8 Democrats are available for
appointment.
7. How many different groups of 9 baseball players can
be chosen from 3 who play only as pitchers, 2 who
play only as catchers, and 14 who play in any
position other than pitcher or catcher?
8. Find the number of ways of selecting 9 balls from 6
red balls, 5 white balls, and 4 blue balls if each
s3election consists of 3 balls of each color.
9. Find how many sums of money, each consisting of 3
or more coins, can be formed from 6 different kinds
of coins.
10. Find the number of ways in which a librarian can
check out 8 different kinds of books to two students
so that each gets 4 books. Suggestion: Find the
number of ways of giving 4 books to the first student.
11. In how many ways can 12 people be separated into
two groups of 5 and 7?
12. Find the number of different ways that 13 cards can
be dealt from a standard 52-card deck.
13. How many different sums of money can be formed
by choosing one or more coins from a collection
consisting of a penny, a nickel, a dime, a quarter, and
a half dollar?
PROBABILITY
In our study of probability, we indicate precisely
those conditions which favor the happening of an event
Engr. KISSA P. BANAWIS
and those which oppose the happening. Although the
treatment will be elementary, the principles introduced
are fundamental in the theory of probability.
The sample space S for an experiment is the set
of all possible outcomes of the experiment.
Any subset of a sample space is called an event,
which is usually denoted by E.
The probability of the occurrence of an event E
is given by
n(E)
P(E) = n( S)
Exercises:
1. If one card is removed at random from a standard
deck of 52 playing cards, find the probability that the
card will be (a) a heart, (b) one of the black suits, (c)
a red jack.
2. If a die is cast, find the probability that it falls (a) 1 or
2 face up, (b) 4, 5, or 6 face up.
3. A baby places the wooden digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, in a row.
What is the probability that the number thus formed
is (a) less than 20,000, (b) more than 40,000?
4. If a pair of dice are tossed, find the probability that the
sum of the spots appearing up is (a) 3, (b) 8, (c) 7.
5. If two cards are drawn simultaneously from a deck of
52 cards, what is the probability that they are both
3s?
6. Five pennies are tossed simultaneously. Find the
probability that they fall with (a) all heads up, (b) 4
heads and 1 tail up, (c) 2 heads and 3 tails up.
7. A committee of 5 is chosen by lot from a group of 5
seniors and 4 juniors. Find the probability that the
committee will have (a) 3 seniors and 2 juniors, (b) 2
seniors and 3 juniors.
8. Three cards are drawn from a deck of 52 cards. Find
the probability that they are (a) hearts, (b) of the same
suit, (c) of different suits.
9. If 8 men draw for partners from 8 cards which have
the names of their wives, find the probability that
each man will draw the name of his wife.
10. A bag contains 6 green marbles, 7 black marbles and
8 yellow marbles. If 9 marbles are drawn at random
from the bag, find the probability that 2 are green, 3
are black, and 4 are yellow.
PROBABILITIES IN THE UNION AND
INTERSECTION OF EVENTS
Theorem. If E1 and E2 are any events in a sample space
S, then
P(E1 or E2) = P(E1 U E2) = P(E1) + P(E2) - P(E1 E2)
If the occurrence of an event E1 does not affect
the occurrence of another event E2 is said to be
independent of event E1. If, however, event E2 is affected
by the prior occurrence of event E1, then E2 is said to be
dependent on E1.