Lesson 1: Fundamental Principle of Counting (FPC)

Learning Competencies
The learner will be able to:
1. count the number of occurrences of an event using
a. table;
b. diagram; and
c. systematic listing.
2. solve problems using the fundamental principle of counting.

Table of Values
Activity: Tossing a coin twice.
Guide Questions:
1. How many possible outcomes are when a coin is tossed twice?
2. What are the possible outcomes?
Answers:

Second Toss
Head (H) Tail (T)
Head (H) HH HT
First Toss
Tail (T) TH TT

1. There are four possible outcomes when a coin is tossed twice.

2. Possible outcomes {𝐻𝐻, 𝐻𝑇, 𝑇𝐻, 𝑇𝑇}
What if the coin is tossed three times, what are the possible outcomes?

Tree Diagram
A tree diagram is a picture of all possible outcomes as an event unfolds. This
technique can only be used for events that do not affect the outcome of each other.
Activity: Ivan has 2 pants and 3 shirts. The color of the pants are black and blue,
while the colors his shirts are white, gray, and black. What are the possible
combinations of pants and shirts?
Guide Questions:
1. How many possible outcomes are there?
2. What are the possible outcomes?
Answers:
 Pants Shirts Outcome

Black Black, Black

Black Gray Black, Gray
White Black, White
Black Gray, Black
Gray Gray Gray, Gray
White Gray, White

There are six possible outcomes.

Try This!
How many ways a student can wear 6 shirts, 4 pants, and 2 shoes?

Systematic Listing
This counting technique involves coming up with an actual list of all possible
outcomes. This is used only for events that involve fairly short lists.
Activity: How many three-digit even numbers can be formed using the digits 0, 1, 2,
3.
Analysis:

First Second Third

Digit Digit Digit

The are four digits under consideration.: 0, 1, 2, 3

There are three digits to choose from 0, 1, 2, 3 for the first digit of the even number.
These are 1, 2, 3. Why zero is not included?
There are four digits to choose from for the second digit of the even number.: 0, 1, 2, 3
There are only two digits to choose from 0, 1, 2, 3 for the third digit of the even
number. These are 0 and 2. Why?
The even numbers are:
100 200 300
102 202 302
110 210 310
112 212 312
120 220 320
122 222 322
130 230 330
132 232 332
Therefore, there are 24 three-digit even numbers.

In the preceding examples, observe:

i. The events are independent events, they do not affect each other’s outcome.
ii. The number of ways that these events can occur is simply the product of
outcomes of each event.
Activity: Tossing a coin twice.
2 2 (2)(2) = 4
First Toss Second
Toss
Activity: Pants and Shirts.
2 3 (2)(3) = 6
Pants Shirts

Activity: Three-digit even number. Given: 0, 1, 2 ,3

3 4 2
First Second Third (3)(4)(3) = 24
Digit Digit Digit

The Fundamental Principle of Counting

If one event can occur in m ways, and another event can occur in n ways, then, these
events can occur in (m)(n) ways, provided that the two events are independent events.

Illustrative Example 1:
Two-digit numbers are formed from the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
a. How many two-digit numbers can be formed?
The first digit is a non-zero digit. The second digit has no restriction.
9 options 10 options (9)(10) = 90
First Second
Digit Digit
b. How many two-digit numbers are even?
The first digit is a non-zero digit. The last digit of an even number is either 0, 2,
4, 6, or 8.
9 options 5 options (9)(5) = 45
First Second
Digit Digit
 c. How many two-digit numbers are odd?
The first digit is a non-zero digit. The last digit of an odd number is either 1, 3,
5, 7, or 9.
9 options 5 options (9)(5) = 45
First Second
Digit Digit
d. How many two-digit numbers are divisible by 5?
The first digit is a non-zero digit. The last digit of a number divisible by 5 is
either 0, or 5.
9 options 2 options (9)(2) = 18
First Second
Digit Digit

e. How many two-digit numbers are less than 40?

The first digit of less than 40 is either 1, 2, or 3. The second digit has no
restriction.
3 options 10 options (3)(10) = 30
First Second
Digit Digit

f. How many two-digit numbers are greater than 49 but less than 70?
The first digit of greater than 49 and less than 70 is either 5 or 6. The second
digit has no restriction.
2 options 10 options (2)(10) = 20
First Second
Digit Digit

Illustrative Example 2: The number of ways you can order a milk tea with the following
flavors Wintermelon, Okinawa, Oreo, and Hokkaido, with the following sizes Small,
Medium, and Large, with add-ons of Black Pearl, Coffee Jelly, Nata, and Pudding.
4 3 4
Flavors Sizes Add-ons (4)(3)(4) = 48

Practice Exercise 1: Draw a tree diagram to find the number of possible outcomes.
1. A student has 4 pants, and 3 shirts. How many different pairs of a pants and
shirts can he wear?
2. How many three-digit numbers can be formed from the digits 1, 2, 3, and 4 if
no digit is repeated in any number?
2.1 . How many of these numbers are odd?
2.2 . How many are greater than 300? How many are divisible by 11?
3. How many ways can a student answer five true-or-false questions?
 4. Order a pizza thick crust or thin crust with a choice of ham, bacon, sausage, or
mushrooms.
5. There are three routes from town A to town B and four routes from town B to
town C. Find the number of different ways for a biker to travel from town A to
town C via town B.
Practice Exercise 2. Show your solutions to get the number of possible outcomes.
1. The Statistics Club of Paliparan National High School has six members. How
many ways can this club select a president and secretary assuming that all
members are eligible, but no one can hold both positions.
2. If two dice are rolled, how many possible outcomes are there? (List all possible
outcomes).
2.1 How many of these have a dot sum greater than 8?
2.2 How many of these have a dot sum of 8?
3. How many three-digit numbers from 0, 1, 2, 3 can be formed without repetition
of digits?
3.1. How many of these three-digit numbers are even?
4. In the coming track and field competition, 8 sprinters will run the 200-meter
dash. How many ways can gold, silver, and bronze medals be awarded?
5. If five students are to be seated in five chairs,
5.1. how many ways can they be seated in a row?
5.2. how many ways can they be seated in a circle?