5.

Permutations and Combinations

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Do you actually know how to count…?

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The basic counting principle.

If task A can be performed in m ways, followed by task B

which can be performed in n ways, then task A followed by
task B can be performed in
(m ✕ n) ways.

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The fundamental theorem of counting:

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Factorial notation

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SHIFT then x-1
to get x!
We say this as ‘x
factorial’

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Mini whiteboards

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To calculate permutations of n objects

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There are three ways to select the first letter 3

There are two ways to select the second letter 3 2

There is only one way to select the third letter

3 2 1
There is a total of 3 x 2 x 1= 6 ways to permute the three letters

3! = 6

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To calculate simple permutations - factorial notation

n! = n (n - 1) (n - 2) ✕ … ✕ 3 ✕ 2 ✕ 1

Note: We define 0! =1

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Answers
a) 8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1= 8! = 40320
b) 8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1 = 8! = 40320
c) 6x5x4x3x2x1= 6! = 720
d) 10x9x8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1 = 10! = 3628800

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To calculate permutations with
repeated objects

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Remember this definition?

What if we now have AAB instead?

Clearly the number of distinct permutations is reduced

The first A in first place and the second A in second place is identical to the first A in
second place and the second A in first place!
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We divide by the factorial of the number of repeated
items to ‘cancel out’ the identical arrangements

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Examples: how many distinct arrangements are there
using the letters from the word:

appearing
mississippi

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Think about the choices for each coin, take it step by step

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To calculate permutations with restrictions

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Part b and c are examples of permutation questions “with restrictions”

Check you can recall how to solve a)?

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Boxes or dashes can be a helpful method for keeping track of the
working.
ALWAYS consider the restrictions first.

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Boxes or dashes can be a helpful method for keeping track of the
working.

ALWAYS consider the restrictions first. 26

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To calculate permutations with grouped restrictions
Find the number of permutations of all the letters in the word HISTORY in which:

a) The letters O and R are together

b) The letters O and R are not together.

Strategy
When both O and R have to be together, count this as one new item.
You now have 6 objects in your set, one of which is the combined item “OR”

1. Calculate the permutation of the objects you have grouped

2. Multiply by the permutations of all the 6 objects you now have

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Working:
Forgetting this step is a common
exam mistake.
a) The letters O and R are together Always remember to consider the
permutations of any items you
b) The letters O and R are not together. group

c) Ways to arrange the letters O and R = 2!

Ways to arrange the 5 letters and the OR item = 6!
Total permutations = 2! X 6! = 1440

b) Total permutations of all 7 letters minus the answer to part a

7! - (answer to part a)
5040 - 1440 = 3600

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Try this:

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Note - this ONLY removes
ways where three circles
are together.
You will still have
arrangements where two
circles are together

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Practise questions

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To calculate permutations of only r
objects out of n

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What if we do not want to use all the objects?
We want to select 3 out of 7 different symbols for a code

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 What if we do not want to use all the objects?

If we continued this process for all 7 symbols we would need to calculate

7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 7!

However, we only want to have 7 x 6 x 5

We can just do the multiplication in simple cases, but we can also do this…

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Using factorial notation
We are counting the permutations of 7 symbols, taken 3 at a time:

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On the calculator: nPr for permutations
Shift followed by ‘x’ gets you
the nPr button

How to use:

To find 5P3

‘5’ then ‘shift’ then ‘x’ then

‘3’ then ‘=’

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Example:

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Got a restriction too? Deal with that first.

Using the underline method and thinking about the choices each time

4 x 17 x 16 x 15 = 16320

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We are going to consider the SPACES for the circles to fit into. Draw a
diagram to visualise this

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Try this

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To calculate COMBINATIONS
(when the order does not matter!)

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To calculate combinations
This list shows all the possible permutations of the letters ABC
But how many COMBINATIONS do we have?

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To calculate combinations
This list shows all the possible permutations of the letters ABC
But how many COMBINATIONS do we have?

Only 1 combination.
If the order does not matter then all of
these are the same

Think about ordering three flavours of

icecream
If you do not care in which order they are
scooped out, your final ice cream cone is
the same for each ordering

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Write this in your book and learn it!

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On the calculator - nCr for Combinations
Shift followed by ‘÷’ gets you
the nCr button

How to use:

To find 5C3

‘5’ then ‘shift’ then ‘÷’ then

‘3’ then ‘=’

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To calculate combinations
(when order does not matter)

1. In how many ways can 3 prefects be appointed from 10 candidates?

2. Find the number of possible teams of 11 that can be formed from 20

players who are undergoing centralised training.

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Solutions
1) We are choosing a group of three people from 10.
The order in which this happens does not matter, so this is a combination

10C3 = 120

2) Assuming we are not allocating positions to the players in the order they are picked,
we are simply choosing 11 people for a team squad from the 20

20C11 = 167960

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Spotting the difference

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We can also use the fundamental theorem of counting
with combinations and restrictions
A team of 6 is to be selected from 6 women and 8 men

1. How many ways is this possible if there are no restrictions?

2. How many ways if we must have 2 women and 4 men?
3. How many ways if we must have 3 women and 3 men?
4. How many ways if we must have 4 women and 2 men?
5. If they are all women?
6. If they are all men?

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A team of 6 is to be selected from 6 women and 8 men

Solutions
1. How many ways is this possible if there are no restrictions? 14C6 = 3003
2. How many ways if we must have 2 women and 4 men? 6C2 x 8C4 = 1050
3. How many ways if we must have 3 women and 3 men? 6C3 x 8C3 = 1120
4. How many ways if we must have 4 women and 2 men? 6C4 x 8C2 = 420
5. If they are all women? 6C6 = 1
6. If they are all men? 8C6 = 28

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Problem solving - calculating probabilities
and outcomes with both P’s and C’s

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1. For probability we must have the total as a denominator.
How many ways can we select 7 tins from 15?

2. If 5 of the tins must be soup, we consider how many ways we can choose 5 tins from 8.

3. If only 5 tins must be soup, then the other 2 must be ‘not soup’.
How many ways can choose 2 tins from the 7 that are ‘not soup’?

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Option 1: they both sit on the drivers side

There are 3 ways for A to sit in a seat on the drivers side. What is the denominator for
Then there are 2 seats left for B to sit in a seat our probability?

3x2=6 3P2 = 6 How many ways for A to

pick any seat?

Option 2: they both sit on the opposite side to the driver Then how many ways for B
to pick their seat?
There are 4 ways for A to pick a seat
Then there are 3 ways for B to pick a seat

4 x 3 = 12 4P3 = 12
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Total?
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Exam technique
A popular exam style question is to ask about ways to arrange objects such that there is a
certain number of spaces or gaps between them, or some similar constraint

It is really helpful to draw a diagram to visualise this

You should deal with the smaller set of restrictions first

Sometimes it might be easiest to work out the ways the constraints CANNOT be met, and
subtract this from the total number of ways

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The word ‘arrangements’ tells us order matters - permutations

We have 9 letters in total: 9!

The two A’s are identical: divide by 2!

The two T’s are identical: divide by 2!

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Mark Scheme

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Once we place the 2 A’s we will have 7 letters left to arrange

How many ways in total can we have different arrangements of the remaining 7 letters?
(do not forget the T’s are identical)

Now consider how to place the A’s

Draw out 9 underlines and LOOK at where the A’s can go so there are AT LEAST 5 spaces
between them.

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Ways to place two A’s with 5 letters between them x number of different arrangements of the remaining 7
letters

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Ways to place two A’s with 6 letters between them x number of different arrangements of the remaining
7 letters

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Ways to place two A’s with 7 letters between them x number of different arrangements of the remaining 7
letters

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Ways to place two A’s with 8 letters between them x number of different arrangements of the remaining 7
letters

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Finding the overall total?

To find the total number of ways you must apply the

OR rule of probability and ADD them

P(5 letters gap OR 6 letters gap OR 7 letters gap)

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Start with the denominator.
The question does not say ‘different arrangements’ , it says ‘selection’ which implies
choosing.

We are choosing 5 items out of 9

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‘Does not contain more T’s’
To understand what this means, consider some examples of 5 letter selections

AC T I VA does not contain more T’s than A’s

D E TAV does not contain more T’s than A’s
IVETC DOES contain more T’s than A’s

We are looking for combinations where there are more A’s than T’s, or the same number of
A’s as T’s

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 Method 1: work out all the combinations
We are looking for combinations where there are more A’s than T’s, or the same number of A’s as T’s

A other letter other letter other letter other letter

A T other letter other letter other letter

A A other letter other letter other letter

A A T other letter other letter

A A T T other letter

other letter other letter other letter other letter other letter

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A other other other other 2 ways to chose an A. We cannot use either T. 5 letters left, we choose 4
letter letter letter letter 2 x 5C4

A T other other other

letter letter letter

A A other other other

letter letter letter

A A T other other 2 ways to choose a T. We have to use both A’s. 5 letters left, we choose 2
letter letter 2 x 1 x 5C2

A A T T other
letter

other other other other other

letter letter letter letter letter

Complete the grid and work out the total number of ways.
Your final answer must be a probability

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Method 2: Total - Ways there are more T’s
Can you work out the different ways this is possible?
Can you use the strategy shown on the previous method to work out the total number of
combinations for each way?

Your final answer must be a probability

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