Lecture Notes

PERMUTATIONS & COMBINATIONS

Syeda Rubab Zehra

PERMUTATIONS
A permutation is an ordered arrangement of objects.
Different formulas of permutation under different situations are described one by one:
Case 1: PERMUTATIONS OF ‘n’ DIFFERENT OBJECTS
Suppose now that we have n objects then there are
n (n - 1)(n - 2) · · ·3 · 2 · 1 = n!
different permutations of the n objects.
EXAMPLE
How many different batting orders are possible for a baseball team consisting of 9 players?
Solution.
There are 9! = 362,880 possible batting orders.

Case 2: PERMUTATIONS OF ‘n’ DIFFERENT OBJECTS TAKEN ‘r’ AT A TIME (repetition is

not allowed)

n 𝒏!
P r= where r ≤ n
(𝒏−𝒓)!

nP 𝒏!
if n=r then n= = 𝑛! where 0! = 1
(𝒏−𝒏)!

EXAMPLE
Find the number of permutations of 4 objects A, B, C, D taken 2 at a time.
Solution.
Here n=4 and r=2

4 4! 4! 4×3×2×1
P2 = = = =12
(4−2)! 2! 2×1

These permutations are :

AB AC AD BA BC BD CA CB CD DA DB DC
Case 3: PERMUTATIONS OF ‘n’ DIFFERENT OBJECTS TAKEN ‘r’ AT A TIME (repetition is
allowed)
n
Pr =𝑛𝑟
EXAMPLE
How many four letters code words are possible using the letters in COIN. If
(i) The letters may not be repeated.
(ii) The letters may be repeated.
Solution.
(i) Here n=4 and r=4
The number of code words when repetition is not allowed is computed as
4 4! 4! 4×3×2×1
P4= = = =24 where 0!=1
(4−4)! 0! 1
(ii) Here n=4 and r=4
The number of code words when repetition is allowed, computed as
4P 4
4 =4 = 256

Case 4: PERMUTATIONS OF ‘n’ OBJECTS WHEN THEY ARE NOT ALL DIFFEREENT

The number of permutations of n objects of which n1 are alike, n2 are

alike, ..., nk are alike is

𝑛!
P=
𝑛1 !×𝑛2 ! ×……×𝑛𝑘 !

Where 𝑛 = 𝑛1 + 𝑛2 + ⋯ + 𝑛𝑘 .
It is also called Group Permutations.
EXAMPLE
In how many ways can the letters of the word STATISTICS be arranged.
Solution.
Here n=10
n1=no. of times of S = 3
n2=no. of times of T = 3
n3=no. of times of A = 1
n4=no. of times of I = 2
n5=no. of times of C = 1
10!
then P= 3!×3!×1!×2!×1!
= 50,400 ways.
EXAMPLE
How many different signals, each consisting of 8 flags hung in a vertical line, can be formed
from a set of 4 indistinguishable red flags, 3 indistinguishable white flags, and a blue flag?
Solution.
Here n= 8
n1=no. of red flags = 4
n2=no. of white flags = 3
n3=no. of blue flag = 1
8!
then P= = 280
4!×3!×1!

Case 5: CIRCULAR PERMUTATIONS

The number of permutations of ‘n’ distinct objects arranged in a circle is (𝒏 − 𝟏)!
EXAMPLE
In how many ways can 4 different trees be planted in a circle?
Solution.
For n objects in a circle there are (n-1)! ways
Therefore, for n=4 there are (4-1)! =3! =6 ways

Question Set 1:
1. A chess tournament has 10 competitors, of which 4 are Russian, 3 are from the United
States, 2 are from Great Britain, and 1 is from Brazil. If the tournament result lists just
the nationalities of the players in the order in which they placed, how many outcomes
are possible?
2. Find the number of permutations that can be formed from all the letters of each word:
(i) queue, (ii)committee, (iii) proposition, (iv) baseball.

COMBINATIONS
Suppose we have a collection of ‘n’ objects. A combination of these ‘n’ objects taken ‘r’ at a time
is any subset of ‘r’ elements. In other words, combination is any selection of ‘r’ of the ‘n’ objects
where order does not count.

The number of combinations of n objects taken r at a time will be denoted by C(n , r) or nC

r.

𝑛!
nC
r = (𝑛𝑟) = (𝑛−𝑟)!𝑟! for r ≤ n .
Following are some of the important properties of combinations.

(i) nC nC nC nC
0= n =1 (ii) 1= n-1 = n

EXAMPLE
A committee of 3 is to be formed from a group of 20 people. How many different committees are
possible?
Solution.
20!
There are (20
3
) = (20−3)!3! =1140 possible committees.

EXAMPLE
In how many ways can a committee consisting of 3 men and 2 women be chosen from 7 men
and 5 women?
Solution.
Method 1 :

3 men can be chosen from 7 men in (73) ways.

7! 7! 7×6×5
i.e. (73) = (7−3)!3!= 4!×3! = 3×2×1 = 35

2 women can be chosen from 5 women in (52) ways

5! 5!
i.e. (52) = (5−2)!2!= 3!×2! =10

The committee of 3 men and 2 women can be formed in

35 × 10 = 350 ways.
Method 2 ;
n (3 men and 2 women)
n (3 men) × n (2 women)
7 5
C3 × C2
35 × 10 = 350 ways.

Questions Set 2 :
1. In how many ways can the city football team of 11 players be selected from 16 players.
2. In how many ways can a cricket eleven be chosen out of 14 players? How many of them
will
(i) include a particular player
(ii) exclude a particular player
3. From a group of 6 boys and 4 girls a group of 4 students is to be selected. How many
group formations will have exactly 2 girls.
4. From a batch containing 5 boys and 6 girls a group of 5 students is to be selected. There
are how many combinations?
(i) 3 boys and 2 girls (ii) 5 boys
5. From a group of 6 girls and 4 boys how many debate teams consisting of 2 girls and 2
boys can be selected.
6. In how many ways could one pick up a committee of four from a group consisting of ten
labors and five management representatives.
7. From a group of 4 men and 5 women, how many committees of size 3 are possible
(i) with one man and two women (ii) with no restriction.
8. From 5 statisticians and 6 economists a committee consisting of 3 statisticians and 2
economists is to be formed. How many different committees can be formed if:
(i) Two statisticians must be in the committee.
(ii) No restrictions are imposed.
9. A basketball coach has 13 players. All boys can play all positions, but Faisal and Imran
are to be included in every team. How many different 5 player teams can the coach
select?
10. In how many ways a committee of 3 can be formed from 3 boys and 5 girls, such that at
least a girl is included in the committee.
11. In how many ways a committee of 4 members can be formed from six labor delegates
and four management representatives , such that at least two labor representatives are
included in the committee.
12. A box contains 7 white balls and 3 red balls. Three balls are drawn at random. In how
many ways can the three balls be drawn if:
(a) The color is not considered.
(b) 2 balls are white and 1 is red.
(c) All three are white.
(d) At least one ball is white.