PARUL UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF IT AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

SUBJECT : BASIC MATHEMATICS

CHAPTER 4: PERMUTATION AND COMBINATION

4.1 INTRODUCTION : Permutations refer to different arrangements of things from a

given lot taken one or more at a time whereas combinations refer to different sets or
groups made out of a given lot, without repeating an element, taking one or more of
them at a time.The distinction will be clear from the following illustration of combinations
and permutations made out of a set of three elements {a,b,c}.
Combinations Permutations

(i) one at a time :{a},{b},{c} {a},{b},{c}

(ii) two at a time : {a,b} {b,c} {a,c} {a,b} {b,a}
{b,c} {c,d}
{a,c} {c,a}

MULTIPLICATION RULE :
If one event can occur in m ways, a second event in n ways and a third event in r,
then the three events can occur in m × n × r ways.
For Example : Erin has 5 tops, 6 skirts and 4 caps from which to choose an
outfit. In how many ways can she select one top, one skirt and one cap?
Solution: Ways = 5 × 6 × 4

REPETITION OF AN EVENT :

If one event with n outcomes occurs r times with repetition allowed then the
number of ordered arrangements is nr
For example : what is the number of arrangements if a die is rolled ?
(a) 2 times ?
(b) 3 times ?
(c) r times ?
Solution: (a) 6 × 6 = 6 2
 (b) 6 × 6 × 6= 63
(c) 6 × 6 × 6 × ……. = 6r

4.2FACTORIAL REPRESENTATION

Factorial notation is denoted by !. The Product of the first n natural numbers

1,2,3,……,n is called n factorial and it is written as n!.

i.e. n! =1 ×2 ×3…….(n-2)(n-1)n

For example 5! = 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
Note 0! = 1
Example
a) In how many ways can 6 people be arranged in a row?
Solution : 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 6 !

SOLVED EXAMPLES

Example 1 : Find the value of 7!.

Solution : 7! = 1 2  3  4  5  6  7 = 5040

8!
Example 2 : Evaluate
3! 5!
8! 8  7  6  5!
Solution : =
3! 5! (3  2 1)(5!)
= 87
= 56

10!
Example 3 :show that = 90
8!
Solution : 10! = 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2 1
And 8! = 8  7  6  5  4  3  2 1

10! 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2 1
⟹ =
8! 8  7  6  5  4  3  2 1

= 90

1 1 x
Example 4 If + = , find x
8! 9! 10!
 1 1 x
Solution We have + =
8! 9  8! 10  9  8!

1 x 10 x
1 + = or =
9 10  9 9 10  9

 x = 100

7!
Example :
5!

4.3FUNDAMENTAL COUNTING PRINCIPLE

Fundamental Counting Principle can be used to determine the number of possible

outcomes when there are two or more characteristics.

(1) Principal of Multiplication:If an event can occur in m different ways, and

following which another event can occur in n different ways, then the total
number of occurrence of the events in the given order is m×n.

For example: In a class of 10 Boys & 8 Girls, in how many ways, We can form a
Couple (a Boy & a Girl)?
Solution: 10×8 = 80.

(2) Principal of addition: If an event can occur in m different ways, or another

event can occur in n different ways, then the total number of occurrence of the
events in the given order is m + n .

For example : In a class of 10 Boys & 8 Girls, in how many ways, we can form a
Monitor (a Boy & a Girl)?
Solution : 10 + 8 = 18

SOLVED EXAMPLES

Example 1:How many telephone connections can be allowed with 5 and 6 digits
from the natural numbers 1 to 9 inclusive ?
Solution: As per the rules of counting , the total number of telephone connection
can be
 9×9 ×9 ×9 ×9=95=59,049 and
9×9 ×9 ×9 ×9×9=96=5,31,441

Example 2: In how many ways can a chairman and a vice-chairman of a board

of 6 members can occupy their seats?
Solution :Whoever is chosen first , he would be seated in 6 ways and having
seated,the other one can be seated in 5 ways because one person cannot hold
both the seats.
Therefore , both chairman and the vice-chairman can be seated in 6×5=30ways.

Example 3 :Three persons go into a railway carriage , where there are 8 seats.
In how many ways can they seat themselves?
Solution : Since there are 8 vacant seats , the first men can choose any one of
these 8 seats. There are thus 8 ways of filling the first seat, when that one is
occupied 7 seats are left , therefore the second men can occupy any one of the
7 seats. The last men can now seat himself in one of the remaining 6 seats.
Therefore, number of ways in which three person can occupy 8 seats is
8×7×6=336

Example 1 Find the number of 4 letter words, with or without meaning, which can be
formed out of the letters of the word ROSE, where the repetition of the letters is not
allowed.

4.4PERMUTATIONS VS. COMBINATIONS

Permutation and combination both are ways to count the possibilities .The
difference between them is whether order matters or not.
Consider a poker hand:
A♦, 5♥, 7♣, 10♠, K♠
Is that the same hand as
K♠, 10♠, 7♣, 5♥, A♦
Does the order of the cards which are handed out is matter?
If yes, then we are dealing with permutations.
If no, then we are dealing with combinations.

4.5PERMUTATIONS

Permutations : A permutation is an arrangement of objects in a definite order.

Notice: order matters!
To find the number of Permutations of n items, we can use theFundamental
Counting Principle or factorial notation.

Permutation of n different things ,taken r at a time is denoted by the symbol

p(n,r) or nPr or nPr .

Theorem 1: To find the number of Permutations of n items chosen r at a

time, you can use the formula (Whenrepetition is not allowed):
n!
p = where 0  r  n .
n r (n − r )!
where n = number of objects
r = number of positions
5! 5!
For example : 5 p3 = = = 5* 4*3 = 60
(5 − 3)! 2!

SOLVED EXAMPLES

Example 1 :From a club of 24 members, a President, Vice President, Secretary,

Treasurer and Historian are to be elected. In how many ways can the offices
be filled?
Solution :There are 24 members. Therefore, n=24.and r=4.
Hence, The Office will be filled in following ways:
24! 24!
24 p5 = =
(24 − 5)! 19!
= 24*23*22*21*20
= 5,100, 480 ways

Example 2 :Indicate how many 4 digit numbers greater than 7000 can be formed
From the digits 3,5,7,8,9.

Solution:If the digits are to be greater than 7000 then the first digit can be
any one of the 7,8,and 9.
Now,the first digit can be chosen in 3 ways,because 3P1 = 3 and the remaining
three digits can be any of the four digits left,which can be chosen in 4P3 ways.

Therefore, the total number of ways

 = 3 ×4P3
=3 ×4 ×3 ×2
=72

NOTE:The number of permutations of n objects taken all at a time, denoted by the

symbol nPn and is given by nPn = n!

Theorem 2 :When repetition of objects is allowed :The number of permutations of

n things taken all at a time, when repetition of objects is allowed is n n .
And the number of permutations of n objects, taken r at a time, when repetition
ofobjects is allowed, is nr .

SOLVED EXAMPLES

Example 1 :How Many new Permutations of all letters of the word TUESDAY are
possible?
Solution :The Number of arrangements is 7P7= 7!
Now, 7!= 7×6×5×4×3×2×1= 5040
Hence, 5040 arrangements exist.

Example 2 :How many 3 letter words with or without meaning can be formed by
word NUTS when repetition is allowed?
Solution: Here: n= 4 (no of letters we can choose from)
r = 3 (no of letters in the required word)
Thus by Theorem 2: nr = 43 =64
Thus 64 words are possible.

Theorem 3 :The number of permutations of n objects or things of which p things

are of one kind,q things are of second kind , r things are of third kind and all the
rest are different is given by
n!
p ! q ! r !

SOLVED EXAMPLES
Example 1 :Find number of permutations of word ALLAHABAD.
Solution:Here total number of word (n) = 9
Number of repeated A’s =p1= 4
Number of repeated L’s =p2= 2
Rest all letters are different.
Thus applying theorem 3, we have:
n!
p !p !
1 2
9!
=
4!2!
= 7560 Ways

Example 2 :How many numbers greater than a million can be formed with the digits
4,5,5,0,4,5,3?
Solution : Each number must consist of 7 or more digits. There are 7digitsin all of
which there are 2 four , 3 fives and the rest are different.
7!
Therefore, the total numbers are = 420
2!3!
Of these numbers , some begin with zero and are less than one million which must
be rejected.
6!
The number beginning with zero are =60
2!3!

Therefore, the required numbers are 420 − 60=360

RESTRICTED PERMUTATIONS

(i) Number of Permutations of n different things taken r at a time, when a particular

things is to be always included in each arrangements is r × n-1Pr

(ii) Number of Permutations of n different things taken r at a time, when a particular

things is never taken in each arrangements is n-1Pr

(iii) Number of Permutations of n different things taken r at a time,in which p particular

things are present is n-1Pr-1 × rPp .
WhererPp= (r-p+1)(r-p+2)…….r.

(iv) Number of Permutations of n different things taken all at a time, when m specified
things always come together is m! × (n-m+1)!

(v) Number of Permutations of n different things taken all at a time, when m specified
things always never come together isn! - m! × (n-m+1)!

MIXED EXAMPLES

Example 1: In how many different ways can the letters of the word THERAPY be
arranged so that the vowels never come together.
Solution :Here n= 7 and m=2.
So, using special case n! - m! × (n-m+1)!
=7!-2! × (7-2+1)!
=7!-2! × (6!)
=7! 6! – 2! 6!
=6!(7-2)
= 6! × 5
= 720 × 5
= 3600 ways

Example 2 :In how many ways can 5 children be arranged in a line such that (i) two
particular children of them are always together (ii) two particular children of them are
never together.
Solution:(i) We consider the arrangements by taking 2 particular children
together as one and hence the remaining 4 can be arranged in 4! = 24 ways.
Again two particular children taken together can be arranged in two ways.
Therefore, there are 24 × 2 = 48 total ways of arrangement.
or m! × (n-m+1)! = 2! × (5-2+1)! = 2! × 4! = 48

ii) Among the 5! = 120 permutations of 5 children, there are 48 in which two
children are together. In the remaining 120 – 48 = 72 permutations, two
particular children are never together.
or n! - m! × (n-m+1)! = 5!-48= 120 – 48 = 72

Example 3 :In How many can the letters of word BALLOON be arranged so that two
letters do not come together?
Solution : Here n=7 . And in word BALLOON , letters L and O both are repeated 2
times. So,
7! 7  6  5  4  3  2 1
=
2!2! 2 1  2 1
= 1260

6! 6  5  4  3  2 1
And =
2! 2 1
= 360

So, number of ways In which the two letters do not come together is
= 1260 − 360=900.

Example 4 :The number of ways to arrange the letters ABC: ___ ___ ___
Solution:
Number of choices for first blank is3 ___ ___

Number of choices for second blank is3 2 ___

Number of choices for third blank is 3 2 1

Then , the total number of ways to arrange the letters ABC is:
3! = 3  2 1 = 6

And the arrangement of word is:

ABC ACB BAC BCA CAB CBA

Example 5 :In how many ways can 4 red, 3 yellow and 2 green discs be arranged in a
row if the discs of the same color are indistinguishable?
Solution : Total number of discs are 4+3+2=9.Out of 9 discs , 4 are of the first kind
(red ),3 are of the second kind (yellow) and 2 are of the third kind(green).

Thus, number of permutation is ;

9!
=
4! 3! 2!
 9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2 1
=
4  3  2 1  3  2 1  2 1
= 1260 ways

Example 6 :In how many ways can 5 boys and 4 girls be arranged on a bench if
a)there are no restrictions?
Solution: Here , n=9.Then the arrangement of boys and girls (if there is no
restriction) is : 9! or 9p9

b) boys and girls alternate?

Solution : A boy will be on each end. i.e. BGBGBGBGB = 5 × 4 × 4 × 3 × 3 × 2
× 2 × 1 ×1 = 5! × 4! or 5p5×4p4 = 2880

c) boys and girls are in separate groups?

Solution: The arrangement should be in following way:
Boys & Girls or Girls& Boys
= (5! × 4! )+( 4! × 5!) = (5! × 4!) × 2 or 5p5×4p4 ×2
= 5760

Example 7 :In how many ways can the letters of the word STRANGE be arranged
so that (i) the vowels are never separated.
(ii) the vowels occupy only the odd places.
Solution: (i) there are 7 letters. Since the vowels are not to be separated we
may regard them as forming one letter.so there are six letters S,T,R,A,N,G
and E. They can be arrange among themselves in 6! Ways.The two Vowels
can again be arrange in 2! ways.
∴The total number of arrangements = 6! ×2! = 1440.

(ii) Since the number of letters in the word STRANGE are 7, the total number
of places are 7, and the number of odd places are 4(1,3,5,7).The two vowel
A and E are to occupy two of these four odd places which they can occupy in
4P ways.
2
When the vowels have been placed in one way,there remain five places to be
filled up by the remaining 5 consonants which can be done in 5P5 ways of
arranging the consonants.
The total number of arrangements = 4P2 ×5P5
= 12 ×120
=1440

4.6 CIRCULAR PERMUTATIONS

Circular permutations in which objects are arranged in a circle.

Consider arranging 5 objects (a, b, c, d, e) around a circular table. The

arrangements are abcdebcdeacdeabdeabceabcd different in a line, but are
identical around a circle.

a
b

e
c

• To calculate the number of ways in which n objects can be arranged in a circle,

we arbitrarily fix the position of one object, so the remaining (n-1) objects can be
arranged as if they were on a straight line in (n-1)! ways.

i.e. the number of arrangements = (n – 1) ! in a circle.

SOLVED EXAMPLES

Example 1 : In how many ways 5 boys and 5 girls be seated around a table so

that 2 boys are adjacent.

Solution :Let the girls seated first. they can sit in 4! Ways. Now since the place
for the boys in between girls are fixed. The option is there fore the boys to
occupy the remaining 5 places. There are 5! Ways for the boys to occupy the
 remaining 5 places. Thus, the total number of ways in which both girls and boys
can seated such that no 2 boys are adjacent are 4!×5!=2880ways.

Example 2 :At a dinner party 6 men and 6 women sit at a round table. In how
many ways can they sit if:
a) there are no restrictions
Solution : (12 – 1)! = 11!
b) men and women alternate
Solution : (6 – 1)! × 6! = 5! × 6!
C)Ted and Carol must sit together
Solution : (TC) × other 10 = 2! × 10!

(n − 1)!
REMARK :Number of arrangements of n beads for forming a necklace = .
2
(In case of necklace ,anticlockwise and clockwise arrangements are same.)

Example 3 :In how many ways can 8 differently coloured beads be threaded on a
strings?
Solution : As necklace can be turned over, clockwise and anti-clockwise
(n − 1)!
arrangements are the same = .
2
(8 − 1)!
=
2
7!
=
2
= 2520

4.7 COMBINATIONS

A combination is an arrangement of items in which order does not matter.

NOTICE: order does not matter!
Since the order does not matter in combinations, there are fewer combinations than
Permutations. The combinations are a “subset” of the permutations.
To find the number of combinations of n items chosen r at a time, you can use the
n!
formula; nCr = .
r !(n − r )!
 n
An alternative (and more common ) way to denote an r-combination is   and
r
n n!
 = .
 r  r !(n − r )!

Solved Examples
6
Example 1 : Find the value of   .
 4
Solution : Here, n=6 and r=4.
6 6!
6
C4 =   =
 4  4!(6 − 4)!
6  5  4  3  2 1
=
4  3  2 1  2 1
= 15

Example 2 :A student must answer 3 out of 5 questions on a test.In how many different
ways can student select the questions?
Solution : The required number of ways
5!
5
C3 =
3!(5 − 3)!
5!
=
3!2!
5  4  3  2 1
=
3  2 1  2 1
= 10

Example 3 : In How many ways 4 white and 3 black balls be selected from a box
containing 20 white and 15 black balls.
Solution : 4 out of 20 white balls can be selected in
20!
20
C4 =
4!(20 − 4)!
= 4845 ways
And 3 out of 15 black balls can be selected in
15!
15
C3 =
3!(15 − 3)!
= 455 ways
Therefore, the two processes can be carried out together so in 4845  455 = 22,04, 475
ways.

Example 4 :A boy has 3 library tickets and 8 books of his interest in the library. Of
these 8, he does not want to borrow Mathematics Part II, unless Mathematics Part I is
also borrowed. In how many ways can he choose the three books to be
borrowed?Solution: Let us make the following cases:

Case (i) Boy borrows Mathematics Part II , then he borrows Mathematics

part I also. So the number of possible choices is 6C1= 6.

Case (ii) Boy does not borrow Mathematics Part II, then the number of
possible choices is7C3= 35.
Hence, the total number of possible choices is 6C1 +7C3 = 35 + 6 = 41.

Example 5 :From 6 boys and 4 girls , 5 are to be selected for admissions for a
particular course. In how many ways can’t this be done if there must be exactly 2 girls ?
Solution : There has to be exactly 2 girls and there should be 3 boys , the possible
combination would be
43 65 4
4
C2  6C3 = 
2 1 3  2 1
= 6  20
= 120 ways

Example 6 :A party of 3 ladies and 4 gentlemen is to be formed from 8 ladies and 7

gentlemen. In howmany different ways can the party be formed if Mrs.X and
Mr. Y refuse to join the same party?
Solution : 3 ladies can be selected out of 8 ladies in 8C3 ways and 4 gentlemen can be
selected out of 7 gentlemen in 7C4 ways.

The numberof ways of choosing the committee

8! 7!
= 8C3×7C4 =  = 1960 ways
3!5! 4!3!
If both Mrs. X and Mr.Y are members,there remain to be selected 2 ladies
from 7 ladies and 3gentlemen from 6 gentlemen.This can be done in
 7! 6!
= 7C2 ×6C3 =  = 420 ways
2!4! 3!3!
The number of ways of forming the party in which Mrs.X and Mr.Y refuse to
join is
= 1960-420
= 1540

COMPLEMENTARY THEOREM

The number of combinations of n different things taken r at a time, is same

as the number of combinations of n different things taken (n-r) at a time.
n-r ,where 0≤r ≤n
nC = nC
r

Corollary 1 : If nCr= nCp then either r=p or r+p=n for nCr= nCn-p therefore,n-r=p
or r+p=n.
Corollary 2 : If in the formula nCn-r = nCr ,we put
(i)r=n,thennC0 = nCn = 1
(ii) r=n-1 ,thennC1= nCn-1 = n, etc.

SOLVED EXAMPLES

Example 1 :Find the value of r if 18Cr = 18Cr+2

Solution : Since nCr= nCn-r , we have 18Cr = 18C18-r
But, we are given 18C18-r = 18Cr+2
⟹ 18-r=r+2
⟹ 18-2=r+r
⟹ 16=2r
⟹ r=8

Example 2 :Find n, for nC6 : n-3

C3 = 91:4.

Solution :we know that

n
n!
C6=
6!(n − 6)!

(n − 3)!
and n-3C3 =
3!(n − 3 − 3)!
 n
C6 n! 3!(n − 6)!
⟹ n −3
= 
C3 6!( n − 6)! ( n − 3)!
n! 1
= 
(n − 3)! 6.5.4
n(n − 1)(n − 2)
=
6.5.4

n(n − 1)(n − 2) 91
Also, it is given =
6.5.4 4
⟹ n(n-1)(n-2)=5.6.91=5.6.7.13 = 15.14.13
Expressing the three consecutive integers in descending order,
we get n=15.

4.8 APPLICATIONS

Application are of combinatorics

Communication networks, cryptography and network security Permutations are

frequently used in communication networks and parallel and distributed systems.
Routing different permutations on a network for performance evaluation is a
Common problem in these fields.
Many communication networks require secure transfer of information, which drives
development in cryptography and network security .This area has recently become
particularly significant because of the increased use of internet information
transfers. Associated problems include protecting the privacy of transactions and
other confidential data transfers preserving the network security from attacks by
viruses and hacker.
Encryption process involves manipulations of sequences of codes such asdigits,
characters, and words. Hence, they are closely related to combinatorics, possibly
with intelligent encryption process.

For example, one common type of encryption process is interchanging .i.e.,

permuting parts of a sequence.

Computer architecture
Design of computer chips involves consideration of possible permutations of input to
outputpins.Field-programmable interconnection chips provide user programmable
interconnectionfor a desired permutation. Arrangement of logic gates is a basic
element for computer architecture design.

Languages

Both natural and computer languages are closely related to combinatorics .This is
becausethe components of these languages, such as sentences, paragraphs,
programs,and blocks, are arrangements of smaller elements, such as words,
characters, and atoms. For example, a string dearchnig algorithm may rely on
combinatorics of words and characters.
Direct applications of this can include word processing and databases.
Another important application area is performance analysis of these string searching
algorithms. The study of computability what we can compute and how it is
accomplished draws heavily on combinatorics.

Accumulation of electronic communication data

Since combinatorics are extensively applied to these intelligent computing techniques,

there is a wide spectrum of potentials for the national security issue. Some specific
examples may include string searching algorithms and their performance analysis in
communication data , pre and post analysis of combinatorial sequence of information
elements , and combinatorial pattern matching.