Factorials,Combinations &

Permutations

Combinatorics
Pigeonhole principle
Fundamental Theorem of Counting
Essentials: Permutations & Combinations
(So that’s how we determine the number of possible samples!)

 Definitions: Permutation; Factorial; Combination.

 What a Factorial is and how to use it.

 Ability to determine the number of permutations or

combinations resulting from a stated situation.

 Extras here: Tree diagrams & the multiplication rule.

Factorials
 The Factorial of a number is the multiplication of that
number by every smaller number down to 1.

 The Factorial Notation is n!, where n represents the

number and the “!” indicates the factorial process.

 Note the following: By definition 0! = 1

 Example: 8! = 8 * 7 *6 * 5 * 4 * 3 * 2 *1 = 40,320
Permutations
 A Permutation is an arrangement of n objects
in a specific order using r objects at a time.

n!
n Pr 
(n  r )!
Permutations: Examples
 Example: A news program n!
has time to present 2 of four n Pr 
available news stories. How (n  r )!
many ways can the evening
4!
n P2 
news be set up?
(4  2)!
4 * 3 * 2 *1
4 P2 
Checking the process:
If we let A, B, C, D represent the four
shows, then the possible show
2 *1
orders would be:
AB BA CA DA 24
4 P2   12
AC BC CB DB
AD BD CD DC
2
Twelve (12) possible presentations
where order matters.
Combinations
 A combination is the selection of r objects
from n objects without regard to order.

n!
n Cr 
(n  r )!r!
 Combinations: Examples
 Example: A news program has time n!
to present 2 of four available news n Cr 
(n  r )!r!
stories. How many different sets
of stories can be presented on 4!
the evening news? n C2 
(4  2)!2!
Checking the process:
If we let A, B, C, D represent the four
4 * 3 * 2 *1
n C2 
shows, then the possible show orders
would be:
AB BA CA DA 2 *1* 2 *1
AC BC CB DB
AD BD CD DC
However, AB and BA represent the 24
n C2  6
presentation of the same two stories. If
order does not matter, one of these two
may be deleted. Repeating the process
4
results in: AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD,

Six (6) different presentations where order

does not matter.
 Tree Diagrams
 Example:
 What are the possible
 A Tree Diagram results of flipping a coin
systematically lists all twice?
possible ways a sequence
of events can occur. H
H Results:
 Advantage: Visual display of T HH
sequential events. HT
 Disadvantage: Only H TH
T TT
practical where the number
T
of choices are small.
Multiplication Rule (events independent)
 In a sequence of n events in which the first event has
k1 possibilities, the second event k2, etc. (to kn), the
total number of possibilities is k1* k2* …* kn-1* kn.
 Example 1:
 What are the possible results of flipping a coin twice?
 Answer: 2 * 2 = 4
 The Multiplication Rule replaces tree diagrams of
any size. Consider the tree diagram that would
result from the following example.
 Example 2:
 What are the dinner possibilities if there are 10 beverages, 6
appetizers, 11 entrees, and 8 desserts?
 Answer: 10 * 6 * 11 * 8 = 5,280 dinner possibilities.
 Counting,
Permutations, &
Combinations
A counting problem asks
“how many ways” some
event can occur.

Ex. 1: How many three-letter codes

are there using letters A, B, C, and D
if no letter can be repeated?

 One way to solve is to list all

possibilities.
Ex. 2: An experimental psychologist
uses a sequence of two food rewards
in an experiment regarding animal
behavior. These two rewards are of
three different varieties. How many
different sequences of rewards are
there if each variety can be used only
once in each sequence?

Next slide
•Another way to solve is a
factor tree where the number
of end branches is your
answer. b

a c
a
b c
a
c
b
Fundamental Counting
Principle
Suppose that a certain procedure P can
be broken into n successive ordered
stages, S1, S2, . . . Sn, and suppose that
S1 can occur in r1 ways.
S2 can occur in r2 ways.
Sn can occur in rn ways.
Then the number of ways P can occur is
r1  r2    rn
Ex. 2: An experimental psychologist
uses a sequence of two food rewards
in an experiment regarding animal
behavior. These two rewards are of
three different varieties. How many
different sequences of rewards are
there if each variety can be used only
once in each sequence?
3 2
Using the fundamental counting principle:
X
1st reward 2nd reward
Permutations

An r-permutation of a set of n
! means
elements is an orderedfactorial
selection
of r elements from theEx.
set3!of n
= 3∙2∙1
elements
n!
n Pr 
n  r !
0! = 1
Ex. 1:How many three-letter
codes are there using letters
A, B, C, and D if no letter can
be repeated?

Note: The order does matter

4!
4 P3   24
1!
Combinations

The number of combinations of n

elements taken r at a time is

n!
n Cr 
r!n  r !
Order does
NOT
Where n & r matter!
are nonnegative integers & r
<n
Ex. 3: How many committees of
three can be selected from four
people?
Use A, B, C, and D to represent the people
Note: Does the order matter?

4!
4 C3  4
3!1!
Ex. 4: How many ways can
the 4 call letters of a radio
station be arranged if the first
letter must be W or K and no
letters repeat?
2  25  24  23 
27,600
Ex. 5: In how many ways can
our class elect a president,
vice-president, and secretary
if no student can hold more
than one office?

n P3 
Ex. 6: How many five-card
hands are possible from a
standard deck of cards?

52 C5  2,598,960
Ex. 7: Given the digits 5, 3, 6, 7,
8, and 9, how many 3-digit
numbers can be made if the first
digit must be a prime number?
(can digits be repeated?)
Think of these
numbers as if they
3  5  4  60
were on tiles, like
Scrabble. After you
use a tile, you can’t
use it again.
Ex. 8: In how many ways
can 9 horses place 1st, 2nd,
or 3rd in a race?
P
9 3  504
Ex. 9: Suppose there are 15 girls
and 18 boys in a class. In how
many ways can 2 girls and 2
boys be selected for a group
project?

15C2 X 18C2 = 16,065