Sign In
| | 10 Theory slides |
| | 10 Exercises - Grade E - A |
| | Each lesson is meant to take 1-2 classroom sessions |
Vincenzo is playing with the following letters.
Many situations involve the rearrangement of a specific set of objects. These are called permutation problems. Below, the definition of permutation and its corresponding formula are discussed.
A permutation is an arrangement of objects in which the order is important. For example, consider constructing a number using only the digits 4, 5, and 6 without repetitions. Any of the three digits can be picked for the first position, leaving two choices for the second position, then only one choice for the third position.
In this case, there are six possible permutations. 456 465 546 564 645 654 Although all these numbers are formed with the same three digits, the order in which the digits appear affects the number produced. Each different order of the digits creates a different number. The number of permutations can be calculated by using the Fundamental Counting Principle.
Number of permutations&=3*2*1 &⇕ Number of permutations&=6The number of permutations of n different objects arranged r at a time — denoted as _nP_r — is given by the following formula.
_nP_r=n!/(n-r)!, r≤ n
The exclamation sign in the formula indicates that the factorial of a value must be calculated. As a direct consequence, since 0!=1, when n=r the number of permutations is given by the factorial of n.
_nP_n=n!
An alternative notation for _nP_r is P(n,r).
| Position | Number of Choices |
|---|---|
| 1 | n |
| 2 | n-1 |
| 3 | n-2 |
| ... | ... |
| r | (n-r+1) |
By the Fundamental Counting Principle, the product of the choices for each element is equal to the number of different arrangements of n objects chosen r at a time. _nP_r=n(n-1)...(n-r+1) The right-hand side of this equation consists of the first r factors of the factorial of n. The Multiplication Property of Equality can be used to multiply both sides by the last n-r factors of the factorial of n. The product of these factors can be written as (n-r)!
It is important to remember how to write (n-r)! as a product. (n-r)! = (n-r)* (n-r-1) * ... 2 * 1 This expression will be substituted for (n-r)! on the right-hand side of the equation.
Write as a product
Write as a factorial
.LHS /(n-r)!.=.RHS /(n-r)!.
The following cities are the ten most visited cities in Europe.
| Rank | City |
|---|---|
| 1 | London, UK |
| 2 | Paris, France |
| 3 | Istanbul, Turkey |
| 4 | Antalya, Turkey |
| 5 | Rome, Italy |
| 6 | Prague, Czech Republic |
| 7 | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 8 | Barcelona, Spain |
| 9 | Vienna, Austria |
| 10 | Milan, Italy |
_nP_n=n! In this case, since there are ten cities to be visited, the factorial of 10 needs to be calculated.
n= 10
Write as a product
Multiply
Of the 10 places, only 3 can be visited. Therefore, the number of permutations of 3 out of 10 needs to be calculated.
n= 10, r= 3
Subtract term
Write as a product
Cancel out common factors
Simplify quotient
a/1=a
Multiply
In the 2020 Olympic Games, the competitors of the men's 100 meter freestyle swimming finals came from the following countries.
| Men’s 100 Meter Freestyle Swimming Finals | |
|---|---|
| United States | Australia |
| Russia | France |
| South Korea | Italy |
| Hungary | Romania |
_nP_r=n!/(n-r)! Of the 8 swimmers, only 3 can be on the podium and be awarded medals. Therefore, the number of permutations of 3 out of 8 needs to be calculated.
n= 8, r= 3
Subtract term
Write as a product
Cancel out common factors
Simplify quotient
a/1=a
Multiply
There are 336 different ways in which the gold, silver, and bronze medals can be awarded.
The number of favorable outcomes is the number of ways the Italian, French, and Australian athletes can win the gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively. Although there is only one way for the order of the first three positions, there are several ways for the order of the remaining five positions. All these are favorable outcomes.
| Example Favorable Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Italy | Italy | Italy |
| France | France | France |
| Australia | Australia | Australia |
| United States | Hungary | South Korea |
| Russia | Romania | Russia |
| South Korea | Russia | United States |
| Hungary | United States | Hungary |
| Romania | South Korea | Romania |
If the medals are awarded to the Italian, French, and Australian swimmers in this order, then the number of permutations of the last five positions must be calculated. Favorable Outcomes _5P_5=5! ⇔ _5P_5= 120 The number of possible outcomes is the number of all possible ways in which the medals can be awarded. This is found by calculating the permutations of 8 swimmers taken from a group of 8. Possible Outcomes _8P_8=8! ⇔ _8P_8= 40 320 With this information, the probability that the Italian swimmer wins the golden medal, the French swimmer the silver medal, and the Australian swimmer the bronze medal can be calculated.
Substitute values
a/b=.a /120./.b /120.
a/b=a÷ b
Round to 3 decimal place(s)
In other situations, only the selected objects are important, not the order in which they come. These problems are called combination problems. Below, the definition of combination and its corresponding formula are developed.
A combination is a selection of objects in which the order is not important. Combinations focus on the selected objects. For example, consider choosing two different ingredients for a salad from five unique options in a salad bar.
The number of combinations of n different objects taken r at a time — denoted as _nC_r — is given by the following formula.
_nC_r=n!/r!(n-r)!, r≤ n
The exclamation mark in the formula indicates that the factorial of the value should be calculated. As a direct consequence of the above formula, since 0!=1, when n=r the number of combinations is 1.
_nC_n=1
An alternative notation for _cC_r is C(n,r).
_nC_r* r!= n!/(n-r)! ⇕ _nC_r=n!/r!(n-r)!
Kriz is going on vacation next month and wants to pack 4 books from their must-read list. Each of the books belongs to one of the following genres.
| Kriz’s List of Books By Genres | |
|---|---|
| Fantasy | Romance |
| Mystery | Fiction |
| Biography | Graphic Novel |
| Drama | History |
| Western | Poetry |
In how many ways can they select 4 different books?
n= 10, r= 4
Subtract term
Write as a product
Cancel out common factors
Simplify quotient
Write as a product
Multiply
Calculate quotient
There are 210 ways in which Kriz can select 4 books to pack from their must-read list.
Kriz has decided that they will select 5 of their books at random instead of 4. However, they would prefer to bring at least one book from the fantasy, mystery, and drama genres. What is the probability of them choosing these three genres if the selection pool consists of 10 books from 10 different genres? Write the answer in percentage form rounded to 1 decimal place.
The order in which the books are selected is not important. Therefore, the number of possible outcomes can be found by calculating the combinations when taking 5 books out of 10. The number of combinations when selecting r items out of n is given by the following formula. _nC_r=n!/r!(n-r)! By substituting 10 for n and 5 for r, the number of possible outcomes can be calculated.
n= 10, r= 5
Subtract term
Write as a product
Cancel out common factors
Simplify quotient
Write as a product
Multiply
Calculate quotient
There are 252 ways of selecting 5 books out of 10. This is the number of possible outcomes. Possible Outcomes: 252 Since the order does not matter, there is only one way of selecting a fantasy, a mystery, and a drama book. The other 2 books need to be selected from the remaining 7. Therefore, the combinations of 2 out of 7 books will be calculated.
n= 7, r= 2
Subtract term
Write as a product
Cancel out common factors
Simplify quotient
2!=2
Multiply
Calculate quotient
There is 1 way to select the first three books and 21 ways to select the other two books. By the Fundamental Counting Principle, the number of favorable outcomes is the product between 1 and 21.
Favorable Outcomes: 1*21= 21
There are 21 favorable outcomes and 252 possible outcomes. Let A be the event that 3 of the 5 books selected are a fantasy, a mystery, and a drama.
By substituting the number of favorable outcomes and the number of possible outcomes into the Probability Formula, P(A) can be found.
Number of favorable outcomes= 21, Number of possible outcomes= 252
a/b=.a /21./.b /21.
a/b=a÷ b
Round to 3 decimal place(s)
Convert to percent
The probability of getting a fantasy, a mystery, and a drama in the five selected books is about 8.3 %.
Magdalena teaches algebra to a group of 10 students. While making a list to track their attendance, she wonders whether at least 2 students have the same birthday. For simplicity, suppose that all years have exactly 365 days.
at leastmeans that any outcome with 2 or more students with the same birthday is a favorable outcome. Therefore, the following outcomes are all the possible favorable outcomes.
| Favorable Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2 have the same birthday | 3 have the same birthday | 4 have the same birthday |
| 5 have the same birthday | 6 have the same birthday | 7 have the same birthday |
| 8 have the same birthday | 9 have the same birthday | 10 have the same birthday |
Suppose that instead of 10, there are n students. Let A be the event that at least 2 students out of n have their birthday on the same day. If n is greater than 365, then certainly at least 2 students would share their birthday. For the sake of the example, n is assumed to be less than or equal to 365. A=&At least 2students out of nhave &their birthday on the same day Finding the probability of every possible outcome — all nine outcomes in the table above — means finding nine different probabilities. The opposite of at least 2 students having their birthday on the same day is that there are no students with their birthday on the same day. This is the complement of A written as A'. A'=&No one of the nstudents &shares a birthday The Complement Rule of Probability can help to deal with this situation. To do so, a general expression will be found for no students from a group of n having the same birthday. Then, P(A) can be calculated.
Suppose that the group consists of only 2 students. The first student can have their birthday on any day. The probability of the second student not having their birthday on the same day is the ratio of 364 to 365. Therefore, this expression is the probability of the two students not having their birthday on the same day. Probability of2 Students Not Having Their Birthday on the Same Day 364/365 Suppose that a third student is added to the group. The probability that this student has their birthday on a different day from the previous two is the ratio of 363 to 365. By the Multiplication Rule of Probability, the probability that no students out of these three have their birthdays on the same day can be found. Probability of3 Students Not Having Their Birthday on the Same Day 364/365*363/365 ⇔ 364*363/365^2 By following the same reasoning, the probability that n students do not share a birthday, P(A'), can be written. P(A')= 364/365*363/365*...365-n+1/365_(n-1 times) [2.5em] ⇕ [1em] P(A')= 364*363*...*(365-n+1)/365^(n-1) The obtained expression will now be simplified.
Identity Property of Multiplication
Rewrite 1 as 365/365
Multiply fractions
a*a^m=a^(1+m)
Identity Property of Multiplication
Rewrite 1 as (365-n)!/(365-n)!
a*b/c= a* b/c
365* 364*363*...*(365-n+1) * (365-n)!= 365!
In this case, A is the event that at least 2 students out of 10 have their birthday on the same day.
| A | A' |
|---|---|
| At leat 2 students out of 10 have their birthday on the same day. | No one of the 10 students shares a birthday. |
To apply the formula, P(A') will be calculated first.
n= 10
_(365)P_(10)= 365!/(365-10)!
Subtract term
Write as a product
Cancel out common factors
Simplify quotient
a/1=a
Use a calculator
Round to 2 decimal place(s)
P(A)=1-_(365)P_n/365^n By substituting 30 for n, P(A) can be found for a group of 30 students.
n= 30
_(365)P_(30)= 365!/(365-30)!
Subtract term
Write as a product
Cancel out common factors
Simplify quotient
a/1=a
Use a calculator
Subtract term
Round to 2 decimal place(s)
Permutations and combinations can be used in many situations. Understanding these mathematical concepts can help solve many intricate problems. With this in mind, reconsider the problem in which Vincenzo wants to create arrangements by using the following letters.
How many different arrangements with 3 vowels and 4 consonants can be created?
Note that 3 vowels must be selected out of 5, which means that the number of possible combinations must be calculated. To do so, the combination formula can be used. The number of combinations of n objects taken r at a time is given by the following formula. _nC_r=n!/r!(n-r)! Therefore, the number of possible combinations can be calculated by substituting 5 for n and 3 for r into the formula.
n= 5, r= 3
Subtract term
Write as a product
Cancel out common factors
Simplify quotient
Multiply
2!=2
Calculate quotient
In a similar way, the number of combinations when taking 4 out of 6 constants can be found.
n= 6, r= 4
Subtract term
Write as a product
Cancel out common factors
Simplify quotient
Multiply
2!=2
Calculate quotient
There are 10 ways of selecting three vowels and 15 ways of selecting four consonants. By the Fundamental Counting Principle, the number of ways of selecting three vowels and four consonants is given by the product of 10 and 15. 10*15= 150 Now, keep in mind that a different arrangement of each possible combination is different. This means that the order is important, and the number of possible permutations of the seven letters must to be calculated. Recall that the factorial of n gives the number of permutations of n out of n. _7P_7=7! ⇔ _7P_7= 5040 Finally the Fundamental Counting Principle will be used one more time. For each of the 150 ways of selecting three vowels and four consonants, there are 5040 permutations. Possible Arrangements 150* 5040=756 000
We are told that each position on the volleyball team has a special responsibility. Therefore, the order in which people are selected matters. This means we are looking for the permutations. To find the number of permutations, we can use the permutation formula. _nP_r=n!/(n-r)! Because the roster is 8 players and we need to select 6 of them, we need to evaluate the formula when n is 8 and r is 6.
There are 20 160 ways to pick the 6 people.
If Diego has been picked for the position of setter, there is one less player on the roster and one less position that needs to be filled. Again, since order matters, we want to determine the number of permutations when selecting 5 players from a roster of 7.
There are 2520 teams where Diego has the setter position.
The probability of an event A is given by the ratio of the favorable outcomes to the ratio of the possible outcomes. P(A)=Number of favorable outcomes/Number of possible outcomes In a previous exercise, we found that the number of ways to pick the team is 20 160, the number of possible outcomes. We found that in 2520 teams, Diego has the setter position. This is the number of favorable outcomes. Number of favorable outcomes: 2520 Number of possible outcomes: 20 160 Therefore, by calculating the ratio of 2520 to 20 160, we can determine the probability that Diego will be picked as the setter. P(Diego picked as setter)=2520/20 160 ⇕ P(Diego picked as setter)=1/8
This time, the order in which Ramsha selects the team does not matter. This means that we are dealing with combinations, not permutations. Therefore, to find the number of combinations when selecting 6 out of 8, we can use the combination formula. _nC_r=n!/r!(n-r)! Let's substitute 8 for n and 6 for r into the formula and evaluate.
There are 28 ways to pick the team if the order does not matter.
We have 10 digits to form a 3-digit code. 3-digit code [0.5em] ? ? ? However, for the first digit of the code, there are only 9 choices because the code cannot begin with 0. Valid Code 1 2 3 [0.8em] NotValid Code 3 2 Moreover, we can see that a different arrangement of the same digits creates a different code. 1 9 3≠9 3 1 Therefore, we have a permutation problem. After choosing the first digit, we have nine options to place for the remaining two positions. This means that we need to find the different arrangements of 2 out of 9. To do it, we can use the permutation formula. _nP_r=n!/(n-r)! Let's evaluate the formula when n is 9 and r is 2.
We have 9 ways to choose the first digit and 72 for the other two. Therefore, by the Fundamental Counting Principle, the product of these values gives us the total number of unique codes Tadeo can create. 9* 72=648unique codes
The probability of an event A is given by the ratio of the number of favorable outcomes to the number of possible outcomes. P(A)=Number of favorable outcomes/Number of possible outcomes In this case, the favorable outcomes represent the code of Tadeo's lock. Since the code is unique, there is only 1 favorable outcome. Number of favorable outcomes= 1 Now, we know that the first digit is 4. This leaves 9 remaining digits for the other two digits of the code. Therefore, the number of favorable outcomes is given by the different arrangements of 2 out of 9, which is 72. Then, the probability that Tadeo guesses correctly on the first try is given by the ratio of 1 to 72. P(Tadeo correct on the first try)=1/72
A pizza shop sells plain pizzas with tomato sauce and cheese. They also have 10 additional different toppings that can be chosen when creating a pizza. How many different pizzas can be created with three or fewer extra toppings added to a plain pizza?
From ten toppings, we can select three or fewer of them when ordering a pizza. Note that three or fewer means selecting no extra toppings or one, two, or three extra toppings. Let's analyze each case one at a time.
With no extra toppings, we only have 1 choice of pizza. A plain pizza with tomato sauce and cheese.
If we choose one extra topping, we have 10 different pizzas to choose from, depending on which of the 10 extra toppings we want to add.
Notice that when applying toppings, the order does not matter. For example, a pizza with cheese and ham is the same as a pizza with ham and cheese. Therefore, we can express two extra toppings mathematically as the number of combinations when choosing 2 items from a group of 10. _(10)C_2
Similarly, the order does not matter when selecting three toppings. Therefore, the different ways of adding three toppings can be expressed as a combination of 3 out of 10. _(10)C_3
If we add the different pizzas we can create with three or fewer toppings, we get the total number of pizzas we can create. We have found that for no extra topping and for one topping, we have 1 and 10 possible pizzas, respectively. Let's use a graphing calculator to calculate the remaining combinations.
If we add all these combinations, we get the total number of pizzas we can make with three toppings or fewer toppings from a selection of ten toppings. 1+10+45+120=176
To use the graphing calculator to calculate the number of combinations, start by entering the number of extra toppings we have to choose from.
Next, push MATH and then scroll right until we reach PRB. Then, scroll down to the third row and push ENTER.
Finally, by entering the number of toppings to be chosen and hitting ENTER, we can calculate the number of combinations.