a) 5! = 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120

b) 10! = 10 × 9 × 8 ×... × 3 × 2 × 1 = 3,628,800

c) 0! = 1 (this is a convention)

d) 2! = 2

Consider the selection of a set of 4 different letters from the English alphabet.

Suppose

 David selected A, E, R, T;
 Karen selected D, E, N, Q; and
 John selected R, E, A, T

Note: David and John selected the same set of letters, even though they selected them
in different order. Hence, these 3 people have selected only 2 different sets of 4 letters
(not 3 sets!!).

Factorials
Factorials are very simple things. They're just products, indicated by an exclamation mark.
For instance, "four factorial" is written as "4!" and means 1×2×3×4 = 24. In general, n! ("enn
factorial") means the product of all the whole numbers from 1 to n; that is, n! = 1×2×3×...×n.

The factorial symbol is the exclamation point: !

So if I wanted to write 7 factorial it would be written as 7!.

In general, n! = n(n - 1)(n - 2)(n - 3)...(1)

Most, (if not all), of you will have a factorial key on your calculator.  It
looks like this: !

If you have a graphing calculator, it will be hidden under the MATH

menu screen and then select your Probability screen - there you should
find !

Some calculators don’t have one, so I will show you how to simplify the
problems in case you don’t have that key on your calculator.
 0!  Has a special definition attached with it.  0! = 1

 
 
 

Example 1: Find 7!

 
If you have a ! key on your calculator you simple press 7 and then !
and in some cases you may have to also press your enter or = key.

If you don’t have this key you will have to enter the definition in as
follows:

7! = (7)(6)(5)(4)(3)(2)(1) = 5040

Either way 7! = 5040.

 
We needed to know about factorial because it is used the formula for
permutation, which is our next topic.

 
 
Permutation

An ORDER of arrangements of r objects,

without repetition, selected from n distinct objects
is called a permutation of n objects taken r at a
time, and is denoted as

 
In other words, when you need to count the number of ways you can
arrange items where ORDER is important, then you can use
permutation to count. 

For example, you may want to know how many ways to pick a 1st, 2nd, and
3rd place winner from 10 contestants.  Since you are arranging them in order,
you could use a permutation to do this.  Or if you were wanting to know how
many ways your committee could pick a president, a vice president, a
secretary, and a treasurer, you could use permutations.

 
 
 

Example 2:  In how many ways can 8 CD’s be arranged on a shelf? 

 
Since we are arranging these CD’s that means order is
important.  So we can use permutations to help us out here.
 

First we need to find n and r : 

 

n is the number of CD's we have to choose from.  

What do you think n is in this problem?

If you said n is 8 you are correct!!!  There are 8 CD's

in this problem.
 

r is the number of CD’s we are using at a time.  What

do you think r is?

If you said r is 8, pat yourself on the back!!  We are

arranging all 8 CD's on the shelf.

Putting this into the permutation formula we get:

 
*n = 8, r = 8
 
 
 

*0! = 1 
 

*Expand out 8!
 

 
If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 8! divided by 0!
and then press enter or =.

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in.  It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
 cumbersome to multiply all those numbers one by one.

Wow, this means there are 40320 different ways to arrange those
8 CD’s, that’s a lot.

 
 
 

Example 3:  If a softball league has 10 teams, how many different

end of the season rankings are possible?  (Assume no ties).

 
Since we are ranking these teams that means order is
important.  So we can use permutations to help us out here.
 

First we need to find n and r :

 

n is the number of teams we have to choose from.  

What do you think n is in this problem?

If you said n is 10 you are correct!!!  There are 10

teams in this problem.
 

r is the number of teams we are ranking at a time. 

What do you think r is?

If you said r is 10, pat yourself on the back!!  We are

ranking all 10 teams.

Putting this into the permutation formula we get:

 
*n = 10, r = 10
 
 
 

*0! = 1 
 

*Expand out 10!

 
 
If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 10! divided by 0!
and then press enter or =.

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in.  It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all those numbers one by one.

Wow, this means there are 3,628,800 different ways to rank

those 10 teams, that’s a lot.

 
 
 

Example 4:  In how many ways can a sorority of 20 members select

a president, vice president and treasury, assuming that the same person
cannot hold more than one office.

 
Since we are choosing offices, which is a way to rank members,
that means order is important.  So we can use permutations to
help us out here.
 

First we need to find n and r :

 

n is the number of members we have to choose from.  

What do you think n is in this problem?

If you said n is 20 you are correct!!!  There are 20

members in this problem.
 

r is the number of members we are selecting for

offices at a time.  What do you think r is?

If you said r is 3, pat yourself on the back!!  There are

3 offices.

Putting this into the permutation formula we get:

 
 *n = 20, r = 3
 
 
 

*Expand 20! until it gets to 17! ( which is the !

in den)

*Cancel out 17!'s

 
If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 20! divided by 17!
and then press enter or =.

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in.  It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all those numbers one by one.

Wow, this means there are 6840 different ways to select the three
officers, that’s a lot.

 
 
 

Example 5:  How many different arrangements can be made using

two of the letters of the word TEXAS if no letter is to be used more than
once?

 
Since we are arranging letters, this means order is important. 
So we can use permutations to help us out here.
 

First we need to find n and r :

 

n is the number of letters we have to choose from.  

What do you think n is in this problem?

If you said n is 5 you are correct!!!  There are 5 letters

in TEXAS.
 

r is the number of letters we are using at a time.  What

 do you think r is?

If you said r is 2, pat yourself on the back!!  We are

using 2 letters at a time.

Putting this into the permutation formula we get:

*n = 5, r = 2
 
 
 

*Expand 5! until it gets to 3! ( which is the ! in

den)

*Cancel out 3!'s

 
If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 5! divided by 3!
and then press enter or =.

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in.  It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all those numbers one by one.

This means there are 20 different 2 letter arrangements.

 
 
 

Practice Problems
 
These are practice problems to help bring you to the next level.  It will allow
you to check and see if you have an understanding of these types of
problems. Math works just like anything else, if you want to get good at
it, then you need to practice it.  Even the best athletes and musicians had
help along the way and lots of practice, practice, practice, to get good at
their sport or instrument.  In fact there is no such thing as too much
practice.

To get the most out of these, you should work the problem out on your
 own and then check your answer by clicking on the link for the
answer/discussion for that  problem.  At the link you will find the answer
as well as any steps that went into finding that answer.

 
 
 

Practice Problems 1a - 1c:

Solve using permutations.

1a. A company issues a questionnaire whereby each employee must rank the
5 items with which he or she is most satisfied.  The items are wages, work
environment, vacation time, job security, supervisors, health insurance, break
time, and retirement plan.

The ranking is to be indicated by the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, where 1

indicates the item involving the greatest satisfaction and 5 the least.  In how
many ways can an employee answer this questionnaire?
(answer/discussion to 1a)

1b. A key pad lock has 10 different digits, and a sequence of 5 different digits
must be selected for the lock to open.  How many key pad combinations are
possible?
(answer/discussion to 1b)

1c.  In how many ways can 7 books be arranged on a shelf?

(answer/discussion to 1c)

 
Combination

An arrangement of r objects, 
WITHOUT regard to ORDER and without
repetition, 
selected from n distinct objects is called a 
 combination of n objects taken r at a time. 

The number of such combinations is denoted by

 
The difference between combinations and permutations is in combinations
you are counting groups (order is not important) and in permutations you are
counting different ways to arrange items with regard to order.

The n and the r mean the same thing in both the permutation and
combinations, but the formula differs.  Note that the combination has an extra
r! in its denominator.

If you need review on permutations or factorials, feel free to go to Tutorial

56: Permutations.

 
 
 

Example 1:   In a conference of 9 schools, how many

intraconference football games are played during the season if the teams all
play each other exactly once?

 
When the teams play each other, order does not matter, we are
counting match ups.  For each game there is a group of two teams
playing.  So we can use combinations to help us out here.

Note that if we were putting these teams in any kind of order, then
we would need to use permutations to solve the problem.

But in this case, order does not matter, so we are going to use
combinations.

First we need to find n and r :

 

If n is the number of teams we have to choose from,  what do

you think n is in this problem?

If you said n = 9 you are correct!!!  There are 9 teams in the

 conference.

If r is the number of teams we are using at a time, what do

you think r is?

If you said r = 2, pat yourself on the back!! 2 teams play per

game.

Let's put those values into the combination formula and see
what we get:

*n = 9, r = 2
 

*Eval. inside ( )

*Expand 9! until it gets to 7!

  which is the larger ! in the den.

*Cancel out 7!'s

 

 
If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 9!, divided by 7!,
divided by 2! and then press enter or =. 

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in.  It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all  those numbers one by one.
 

Wow, this means there are 36 different games in the conference.

 
 
 

Example 2:   You are going to draw 4 cards from a standard deck of
52 cards.  How many different 4 card  hands are possible?
 
This would be a combination problem, because a hand would be a
group of cards without regard to order. 

Note that if we were putting these cards in any kind of order, then
we would need to use permutations to solve the problem.

But in this case, order does not matter, so we are going to use
combinations.
 

First we need to find n and r : 

 

If n is the number of cards we have to choose from,  what do

you think n is in this problem?

If you said n = 52 you are correct!!!  There are 52 cards in a

deck of cards.

If r is the number of cards we are using at a time, what do

you think r is?

If you said r = 4, pat yourself on the back!! We want 4 card

hands.

Let's put those values into the combination formula and see
what we get:

*n = 52, r = 4
 

*Eval. inside ( )

*Expand 52! until it gets to 48!

  which is the larger ! in the den.

*Cancel out 48!'s

 

 
If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 52!, divided by
 48!, divided by 4! and then press enter or =. 

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in.  It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all  those numbers one by one.
 

Wow, this means there are 270,725 different 4 card hands.

 
 
 

Example 3:   3 marbles are drawn at random from a bag containing

3 red and 5 white marbles.  Answer the following questions (a - d):

 
3a.  How many different draws are there?

 
This would be a combination problem, because a draw would be a
group of marbles without regard to order.  It is like grabbing a
handful of marbles and looking at them. 

Note that there are no special conditions placed on the marbles that
we draw, so this is a straight forward combination problem.

Note that if we were putting these marbles in any kind of order, then
we would need to use permutations to solve the problem.

But in this case, order does not matter, so we are going to use
combinations.
 

First we need to find n and r:

 

If n is the number of marbles we have to choose from,  what

do you think n is in this problem?

If you said n = 8 you are correct!!!  There are 3 red and 5

white marbles for a total of 8 marbles.

If r is the number of marbles we are drawing at a time, what

do you think r is?

If you said r = 3, pat yourself on the back!! 3 marbles are

 drawn at a time.

Let's put those values into the combination formula and see
what we get:

*n = 8, r = 3

*Eval. inside ( )

*Expand 8! until it gets to 5!

  which is the larger ! in the den.

*Cancel out 5!'s

 

 
If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 8!, divided by 5!,
divided by 3! and then press enter or =. 

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in.  It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all  those numbers one by one.
 

Wow, this means there are 56 different draws.

 
 
3b.  How many different draws would contain only red marbles?

 
This would be a combination problem, because a draw would be a
group of marbles without regard to order.  It is like grabbing a
handful of marbles and looking at them. 

In part a above, we looked at all possible draws.  From that list we

only want the ones that contain only red. 

Let's see what the draw looks like:  we would have to have 3 red
marbles to meet this condition: 
 3 RED

First we need to find n and r :

 

If n is the number of RED marbles we have to choose from, 

what do you think n is in this problem?

If you said n = 3 you are correct!!!  There are a total of  3 red
marbles.

If r is the number of RED marbles we are drawing at a time,

what do you think r is?

If you said r = 3, pat yourself on the back!! 3 RED marbles

are drawn at a time.

Let's put those values into the combination formula and see
what we get:

*n = 3, r = 3

*Eval. inside ( )
 

*Cancel out 3!'s

 

 
If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 3!, divided by 0!,
divided by 3! and then press enter or =. 

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in.  It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all  those numbers one by one.
 

This means there is only 1 draw out of the 56 found in part a

that would contain 3 RED marbles.
 
 
3c.  How many different draws would contain 1 red and 2 white
marbles?

 
This would be a combination problem, because a draw would be a
group of marbles without regard to order.  It is like grabbing a
handful of marbles and looking at them. 

In part a above, we looked at all possible draws.  From that list we

only want the ones that contain 1 RED and 2 WHITE marbles. 

Let's see what the draw looks like:  we would have to have 1 red
and 2 white marbles to meet this condition: 

1 RED    2 WHITE

First we need to find n and r: 

 

Together that would make up 1 draw.  We are going to have

to use the counting principle to help us with this one.  If you
need a review on the Fundamental Counting Principle, feel
free to got to Tutorial 55: The Fundamental Counting
Principle.

Note how 1 draw is split into two parts - red and white.  We
can not combine them together because we need a particular
number of each one. So we will figure out how many ways
to get 1 RED and how many ways to get 2 WHITE, and
using the counting principle, we will multiply these
numbers together. 

1 RED: 
 

If n is the number of RED marbles we have to choose

from,  what do you think n is in this problem?

If you said n = 3 you are correct!!!  There are a total of 

3 RED marbles.

If r is the number of RED marbles we are drawing at a

time, what do you think r is?

If you said r = 1, pat yourself on the back!! 1 RED

marble is drawn at a time.
  

2 WHITE: 
 

If n is the number of WHITE marbles we have to

choose from,  what do you think n is in this problem?

If you said n = 5 you are correct!!!  There are a total of

5 WHITE marbles.

If r is the number of WHITE marbles we are drawing

at a time, what do you think r is?

If you said r = 2, pat yourself on the back!! 2 WHITE

marbles are drawn at a time. 

Let's put those values into the combination formula and see
what we get:

*RED: n = 3, r = 3
*WHITE: n = 5, r = 2

*Eval. inside ( )

*Expand 3! until it gets to 2!

*Expand 5! until it gets to 3!

*Cancel out 2!'s and 3!'s

 
 
 

 
If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 3!, times 5!,
divided by 2!, divided by 1!, divided by 3!, divided by 2! and
then press enter or =. 

If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in.  It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all  those numbers one by one.
  

This means there are 30 draws that would contain 1 RED and 2
WHITE marbles.

 
 
 
3d.  How many different draws would contain exactly 2 red marbles?

 
This would be a combination problem, because a draw would be a
group of marbles without regard to order.  It is like grabbing a
handful of marbles and looking at them. 

In part a above, we looked at all possible draws.  From that list we

only want the ones that contain 2 RED and 1 WHITE marbles. 
Remember that we need a total of 3 marbles in the draw.  Since we
have to have 2 red, that leaves us needing 1 white to complete the
draw of 3.

Let's see what the draw looks like:  we would have to have 2 red
and 1 white marbles to meet this condition: 

2 RED    1 WHITE

First we need to find n and r:

 

Together that would make up 1 draw.  We are going to have

to use the counting principle to help us with this one.  If you
need a review on the Fundamental Counting Principle, feel
free to got to Tutorial 55: The Fundamental Counting
Principle.

Note how 1 draw is split into two parts - red and white.  We
can not combine them together because we need a particular
number of each one. So we will figure out how many ways
to get 2 RED and how many ways to get 1 WHITE, and
using the counting principle, we will multiply these
numbers together. 

2 RED: 
 

If n is the number of RED marbles we have to choose

from,  what do you think n is in this problem?
 If you said n = 3 you are correct!!!  There are a total of 
3 RED marbles.

If r is the number of RED marbles we are drawing at a

time, what do you think r is?

If you said r = 2, pat yourself on the back!! 2 RED

marble is drawn at a time.
 

1 WHITE: 
 

If n is the number of WHITE marbles we have to

choose from,  what do you think nis in this problem?

If you said n = 5 you are correct!!!  There are a total of

5 WHITE marbles.

If r is the number of WHITE marbles we are drawing

at a time, what do you think r is?

If you said r = 1, pat yourself on the back!! 1 WHITE

marble are drawn at a time. 

Let's put those values into the combination formula and see
what we get:

*RED: n = 3, r = 2
*WHITE: n = 5, r = 1

*Eval. inside ( )

*Expand 3! until it gets to 2!

*Expand 5! until it gets to 4!
 

 
If you have a factorial key, you can put it in as 3!, times 5!,
divided by 1!, divided by 2!, divided by 4!, divided by 1! and
then press enter or =. 
 If you don't have a factorial key, you can simplify it as shown above
and then enter it in.  It is probably best to simplify it first, because in
some cases the numbers can get rather large, and it would be
cumbersome to multiply all  those numbers one by one.
 

This means there are 15 draws that would contain 2 RED and 1
WHITE marbles.

 
 
 

Practice Problems
 
These are practice problems to help bring you to the next level.  It will allow
you to check and see if you have an understanding of these types of
problems. Math works just like anything else, if you want to get good at
it, then you need to practice it.  Even the best athletes and musicians had
help along the way and lots of practice, practice, practice, to get good at
their sport or instrument.  In fact there is no such thing as too much
practice.

To get the most out of these, you should work the problem out on your
own and then check your answer by clicking on the link for the
answer/discussion for that  problem.  At the link you will find the answer
as well as any steps that went into finding that answer.

 
 
 

Practice Problems 1a - 1b:

 A teacher has 15 students and 5 are to be

chosen to give demonstrations.  How many
different ways can the teacher choose the
demonstrators given the following
conditions.

1a. The order of the demonstrators is important? 

(answer/discussion to 1a)
 

1b. The order of the demonstrators is not important? 

(answer/discussion to 1b)

 
 
 

Practice Problems 2a - 2c:

8 students names will be drawn at  random

from a hat containing 14 freshmen names,
15  sophomore names, 8 junior names, and
10 senior names. 

2a. How many different draws of 8 names are there overall? 

(answer/discussion to 2a)

2b. How many different draws of 8 names would contain only juniors? 
(answer/discussion to 2b)

2c. How many different draws of 8 names would contain exactly 4 juniors
and 4 seniors? 
(answer/discussion to 2c)