Permutations and Combinations
!
1. Permutations of Distinct Objects: 𝑃 = ( )!
= 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)(𝑛 − 2)(𝑛 − 3) … (𝑛 − 𝑟 + 1)
2. Some important factorial values:
(i) 0! = 1
(ii) 1! = 1
(iii) 2! = 2
(iv) 3! = 6
(v) 4! = 24
(vi) 5! = 120
(vii) 6! = 720
(viii) 7! = 5040
(ix) 8! = 40320
(x) 9! = 362880
(xi) 10! = 3628800
3. Important Permutation Values:
(i) 𝑃 = 𝑛!
(ii) 𝑃 = 1
(iii) 𝑃 = 𝑛
4. Permutation of Objects Not All Distinct:
(i) Of n objects, if p are alike of one kind and q are alike of another and remaining are
!
all distinct, then number of permutations, 𝑥 = ! ! , 𝑝, 𝑞 < 𝑛, 𝑝 + 𝑞 ≤ 𝑛
5. Circular Permutations: Number of permutations = 𝑄 = 𝑃
!
6. Combinations: 𝐶 = !( )!
(i) 𝐶 = 𝐶
(ii) If 𝐶 = 𝐶 , then 𝑥 = 𝑦 or 𝑥 + 𝑦 = 𝑛
(iii) 𝐶 + 𝐶 = 𝐶
(iv) 𝐶 + 𝐶 + 𝐶 + 𝐶 … + 𝐶 + 𝐶 =2
7. Special Uses of 𝐶 :
8. Divisors of a Number:
(i) If a number 𝑚 has prime divisors 𝑝 , 𝑝 , 𝑝 , … 𝑝 ∶
(ii) 𝑚 = 𝑝 𝑝 𝑝 … 𝑝
(iii) Total number of divisors = (𝑝 + 1)(𝑝 + 1)(𝑝 + 1) … (𝑝 + 1)
(iv) Number of Proper Divisors = (𝑝 + 1)(𝑝 + 2)(𝑝 + 1) … (𝑝 + 1) − 2
(v) Sum of All Divisors = …
(vi) Sum of Proper Divisors = … −𝑚−1
9. Sum of Numbers Formed by n Digits Without Repetition:
𝑆 = (𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑡𝑠)(𝑛 − 1)!
10. Division Into Groups:
(i) Division into two group of p and q objects each such that p+q=n:
!
No. of ways to distribute = 𝐶 𝐶 = ! !
(ii) Division into three groups of p, q and r objects such that p+q+r=n:
!
No. of ways to distribute = 𝐶 𝐶 𝐶 = ! !!
(iii) Division into k groups of 𝑛 , 𝑛 , 𝑛 … 𝑛 such that 𝑛 + 𝑛 + 𝑛 … + 𝑛 = 𝑛:
!
No. of ways to distribute = ! ! ! !… !
11. Equal Division of Objects:
(i) Division to people (order important):
( )!
(a) Division of 2n objects equally between 2 people: ( !)
!
(b) Division of 3n objects equally between 3 people: ( !)
( )!
(c) Division of mn objects equally between m people: ( !)
(ii) Division to Groups (order unimportant):
( )!
(a) Division of 2n objects between 2 groups: !( !)
( )!
(b) Division of 3n objects between 3 groups: !( !)
( )!
(c) Division of mn objects between m groups: !( !)
12. Distribution into Groups: same as non-negative integral solutions of an equation
13. Arrangement into Groups: same as non-negative integral solutions, using P instead of C
Note: For 12 and 13, multinomial theorem can also be applied.
14. Number of Integral Solutions of an Equation:
(i) Positive: 𝐶 = 𝐶
(ii) Non-negative: 𝐶 = 𝐶 ,
where n = sum of all variables, r = number of variables
15. Application of Multinomial Expansion: Solution of the equation is the coefficient of 𝑥 in:
(1 + 𝑥 + 𝑥 + 𝑥 + 𝑥 + 𝑥 + 𝑥 … )
If x lies in [p, q], then coefficient of 𝑥 in (𝑥 + 𝑥 +𝑥 … + 𝑥 ) , where r is the
number of variables in the given equation.
16. Exponent of a Prime Number 𝑘:
(i) In 𝑛!: Highest Power 𝐻 (𝑛!) = + + … 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑘 ≤ 𝑛
(ii) In 𝐶 : Highest Power = 𝐻 (𝑛!) − 𝐻 (𝑟!) − 𝐻 (𝑛 − 𝑟)!
(iii) In 𝑃 :Highest Power = 𝐻 (𝑛!) − 𝐻 (𝑛 − 𝑟)!
17. Derangements: No. of ways to arrange objects such that they are not in their original
places.
(i) r out of n distinct objects deranged = 𝐶 𝑟! 1 − !
+ !
− !
+ !
− !
… + (−1) !
(ii) n distinct objects all deranged: = 𝑛! 1 − !
+ !
− !
+ !
− !
… + (−1) !
18. Divisibility Rules:
(i) 2: last digit divisible by 2
(ii) 3: sum of digits divisible by 3
(iii) 4: last 2 digits divisible by 4
(iv) 5: last digit either 0 or 5
(v) 6: divisible by 2 and 3
(vi) 7: Rest of number − 2 × (𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑡) divisible by 7, can be repeated to get smaller
values
(vii) 8: last 3 digits divisible by 8
(viii) 9: sum of digits divisible by 9
(ix) 11: (sum of digits at odd places) − (sum of digits at even places) divisible by 11
(x) 13: Rest of number − 4 × (last digit) divisible by 13, can be repeated
(xi) 7, 13, 17: 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 − (𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑡𝑠) divisible by 7, 13, or 17
respectively
