29/8/2016

3.Permutations(OrderedArrangements)

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HomeCountingandProbabilityIntroduction3.Permutations

3.Permutations(OrderedArrangements)
Anarrangement(orordering)ofasetofobjectsiscalledapermutation.(Wecanalsoarrangejustpartofthesetofobjects.)
Inapermutation,theorderthatwearrangetheobjectsinisimportant

Example1
Considerarranging3letters:A,B,C.Howmanywayscanthisbedone?
Answer

Thepossiblepermutationsare
ABC,ACB,
BAC,BCA,
CAB,CBA.
Hence,therearesixdistinctarrangements.
Anotherwayoflookingatthisquestionisbydrawing3boxes.

AnyoneoftheA,B,Cgoesintothefirstbox(3waystodothis),andthentheremainingoneofthetwolettersgoesintothe
secondbox(2waystodothis),andthelastremaininglettergoesintothethirdbox(onlyonewaylefttodothis).
Hence,totalnoofways3 2 1 = 6

ReminderFactorialNotation
RecallfromtheFactorialsectionthatnfactorial(writtenn!)isdefinedas:

n! = n (n 1) (n 2) ... 3 2 1
Eachofthetheoremsinthissectionusefactorialnotation.

Theorem1ArrangingnObjects
Ingeneral,ndistinctobjectscanbearrangedinn!ways.

Example2
Inhowmanywayscan4differentresistorsbearrangedinseries?
Answer

[ThisisverysimilartothefirstExampleonthispage.]
Sincethereare4objects,thenumberofwaysis

4! = 24ways

Theorem2NumberofPermutations
Thenumberofpermutationsofndistinctobjectstakenratatime,denotedby P nr ,whererepetitionsarenotallowed,is
givenby

P nr = n(n 1)(n 2) (n r + 1) =

n!
(n r)!

Notes
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(1)P n = n!(since0! = 1)
(2)Somebooksusethefollowingnotationforthenumberofpermutations:

nP r
andothershave:
n

Pr

Example3
Inhowmanywayscanasupermarketmanagerdisplay5brandsofcerealsin3spacesonashelf?
Answer

Thisisaskingforthenumberofpermutations,sincewedon'twantrepetitions.Thenumberofwaysis:

P 53 =

5!
5!
= = 60
(5 3)!
2!

Example4
Howmanydifferentnumberplatesforcarscanbemadeifeachnumberplatecontainsfourofthedigits0to9followedbyaletter
AtoZ,assumingthat
(a)norepetitionofdigitsisallowed?
(b)repetitionofdigitsisallowed?
Answer

(a)Thereare10possibledigits(0, 1, 2, , 9)andweneedtotakethem4atatime.Thereare26lettersinthealphabet.
Withnorepetition,wehave:

P 10
4 26 =

10!
10!
26=
26= 131040
(10 4)!
6!

(b)Withrepetition,wehavesimply:
(numberofdigitsfrom0000to9999)26

= 10, 000 26
= 260, 000

Theorem3PermutationsofDifferentKindsofObjects
Thenumberofdifferentpermutationsofnobjectsofwhichn1areofonekind,n2areofasecondkind,...nkareofakthkindis

n!
n1 ! n2 ! n3 nk !
Example5
Inhowmanywayscanthesixlettersoftheword"mammal"bearrangedinarow?
Answer

WeuseTheorem3.
Sincethereare3"m"sand2"a"sintheword"mammal",wehave:

6!
= 60
3!2!
Thereisone"L"in"mammal",butitdoesnotaffecttheanswer,since1! = 1.

Theorem4ArrangingObjectsinaCircle
Thereare(n 1)!waystoarrangendistinctobjectsinacircle(wheretheclockwiseandanticlockwisearrangementsare
regardedasdistinct.)
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regardedasdistinct.)

Example6
Inhowmanywayscan5peoplebearrangedinacircle?
Answer

(5 1)! = 4! = 24ways

Exercises
Exercise1
Inhowmanywayscan6girlsand2boysbearrangedinarow
(a)withoutrestriction?
(b)suchthatthe2boysaretogether?
(c)suchthatthe2boysarenottogether?
Answer

(a)Thisisjust8peoplebeingarrangedinarow:8! = 40, 320

(b)Regardthe2boysasone"unit"andsothereare7"units"toarrange.Thiscanbedone7! = 5040ways.
Theboyscanbearrangedin2! = 2ways,sotherequiredansweris

7! 2! = 10, 080
(c)Thereareonly2possibilities:theboysaretogetherortheyarenot.
Sothenumberofwaysofarrangingsothattheboysarenottogetheris:

40, 320 10, 080 = 30, 240

Exercise2
Howmanynumbersgreaterthan1000canbeformedwiththedigits3, 4, 6, 8, 9ifadigitcannotoccurmorethanonceina
number?
Answer

Thisischoosing4from5(any4digitnumberchosenfrom3, 4, 6, 8, 9willbe> 1000)plus5from5(any5digitnumberwill

be> 1000),whereorderisimportant.
Sothenumberofwayswecanarrangethegivendigitssothatourresultingnumberisgreaterthan1000suchthatnodigit
occursmorethanonce,is:

P 54 + P 55 =

5!
5!
+
(5 4)! (5 5)!

5! 5!
+
1! 0!

= 240
Exercise3
Howmanydifferentwayscan3red,4yellowand2bluebulbsbearrangedinastringofChristmastreelightswith9sockets?
Answer

WeuseTheorem3:

n!
n1 ! n2 ! n3 ! nk !
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3.Permutations(OrderedArrangements)

So

9!
= 1260
3! 4! 2!
Exercise4
Inhowmanywayscan5peoplebearrangedinacirclesuchthattwopeoplemustsittogether?
Answer

Regardthe2peoplewhosittogetherasone"unit"andtheother3peopleas3"units".Arrange4"units"inacircle:

(4 1)! = 3! = 6ways
Numberofpermutationsof2peoplewhosittogether:2! = 2
So

6 2 = 12ways

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