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H2 Mathematics (9758)

Chapter 10 – Permutations & Combinations

Content Outline
Include:
• Addition and multiplication principles for counting
• Concepts of permutation  n Pr  and combination  n C r 
• Arrangements of objects in a line or in a circle, including cases involving repetition and
restriction

References
 Books
1. The Core Course for A level by L.Bostock & S.Chandler
2. A Comprehensive Guide (H2 Mathematics) by Frederick Ho (et al)
3. A Concise Course in A-Level Statistics by J.Crawshaw and J.Chambers

 Website
https://www.h2maths.site/#Combinatorics

Permutation and Combination, What’s the Difference?

In English we use the word "combination" loosely, without really thinking if the order of things is
important. In other words:

"My fruit salad is a combination of apples, grapes and bananas" We don't care what order the
fruits are in, they could also be "bananas, grapes and apples" or "grapes, apples and bananas", it is
still the same fruit salad.

"The combination to the safe is 472". Now we do care about the order. "724" won't work, nor
will "247". It has to be exactly 4-7-2.

So, in Mathematics we use more precise language:

 If the order doesn't matter, it is a Combination.
 If the order does matter, it is a Permutation.

In other words: A Permutation is an ordered Combination.

We shall first discuss two fundamental principles, namely the Principle of Addition and Principle of
Multiplication which form the basis of Permutations and Combinations.

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1 The Addition and Multiplication principles for counting

1.1 The Addition Principle

If there exist two or more non-overlapping cases of ways to carry out a process, and
there are a ways in the first case,
b ways in the second case,


and n ways in the last case,

then there are (a + b + … + n) ways to perform the process.
In short: The number of ways/methods/cases of performing a task/operation can be added, if these
ways/methods/cases do not overlap.

Example 1 There are 4 bus services, 3 flight routes and 2 rail services from city A to city B. How
many different ways are there if one is to travel from city A to city B ?

Solution:
 No. of ways   No. of ways   No. of ways 
Total no. of ways from A to B =    
 by bus   by flight   by rail 

1.2 The Multiplication Principle

If an operation A can be performed in a ways,

a second operation B can be performed in b ways,
a third operation C can be performed in c ways,


and the last operation N can be performed in n ways,

then the number of ways of performing the operations in succession is (a  b  c  ...  n) .

Note: Multiplication principle applied when operations in succession are undertaken to achieve a
final outcome.

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Example 2
In order to get to Jurong from Changi, Nick can travel via Orchard or PIE. For travelling via Orchard,
there are 3 routes from Changi to Orchard and 4 routes from Orchard to Jurong. For travelling via
PIE, there is only 1 route.
(i) In how many ways can Nick travel from Changi to Jurong if he decided to go via Orchard?
(ii) What is the total number of ways that Nick can travel from Changi to Jurong?

Solution:

Changi Orchard Jurong

(3 routes)
(4 routes)
PIE

(i) No. of ways =

(ii) No. of ways =

2. Permutations

A permutation is an ordered arrangement of objects.

2.1 Permutations of n DISTINCT objects in a straight line

To illustrate the meaning of a permutation of objects, consider the following problem:
How many different ordered arrangements of all the letters A, B, C are possible? By writing all the
possibilities out systematically, we get the following:

ABC, ACB, BAC, BCA, CAB, CBA

Therefore, the number of permutations (ordered arrangements) of the letters taken all at a time is 6.

Alternatively, we can also place the letters one by one into the 3 spaces as shown.

Letters:
No. of choices: 3 2 1

The first space can be occupied by any of the 3 letters. Once that is taken up, that leaves 2 possible
letters for the second space, and 1 possible letter for the third. Therefore, number of permutations
= 3  2  1  3! (read as “three factorial”)

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In general, n spaces

...
No. of choices: n n-1 n-2 3 2 1

Number of ways of arranging n distinct objects in a straight line = n!

Example 3 Find the number of ways of arranging all the letters in the word SUNDAY.

Solution:

1S, 1U, 1N, 1D, 1A, 1Y (6 distinct letters)

No. of ways of arranging these 6 distinct letters =

2.2 Permutations of r objects out of n DISTINCT objects in a straight line without repetition
(r ≤ n)
r spaces

...
No. of choices: n n-1 n-2

Number of ways to arrange r objects out of n distinct objects in a straight line without repetition
= n(n – 1)(n – 2)…(n – r + 1)
= n Pr

Example 4
How many 3-letter code words can be formed from the letters of the word SCOTLAND?
How many of these 3-letter code words do not contain any vowel at all?
Solution:

1S, 1C, 1O, 1T, 1L, 1A, 1N, 1D : 2 vowels & 6 consonants

No. of 3-letter code words can be formed =

No. of 3-letter code words formed without any vowel =

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2.3 Permutations of r objects out of n DISTINCT objects in a straight line with repetition
(r ≤ n)
r spaces

...
No. of choices: n n n

Number of ways to arrange r objects out of n distinct objects in a straight line with repetition
= n(n)(n)…(n)
= nr

Example 5
A car license plate number must start with the letter S, followed by any 2 letters, any 4 digits and any
1 letter. Only upper-case letters are allowed and repetitions of letters and digits are allowed. How
many ways can a license plate number be formed?

Solution:

S ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

No. of ways =

2.4 Permutations of n objects, some of which are identical

To illustrate this, let us look at the following example:
How many different arrangements can be formed using all the letters in the word ZOO?

Suppose the two O’s are distinguishable from each other i.e. O1  O 2 .
Then there are 3!  6 ways to permute the letters ZO1O 2 as follows:
ZO1O 2 O1ZO 2 O1O 2 Z
ZO 2O1 O2 ZO1 O2 O1Z

But note that in actual fact, O1  O 2 and there are 2! ways to arrange O1 and O 2 . As such, each distinct
permutation (namely ZOO, OZO and OOZ) has been permuted in 2! ways.
3!
So there should be only = 3 different arrangements of the letters in the word ZOO.
2!

i.e. ZOO OZO OOZ

n!
Number of ways of arranging n objects in a line of which p of them are identical =
p!
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In general,
Number of ways of arranging n objects in a straight line, of which
p of one type are identical, q of a second type are identical, r of a third type are identical and
n!
so on =
p! q! r!...

Example 6
Find the number of arrangements of all the letters in each of the following words:
(a) LINE (b) PEPPER (c) STATISTICS
Solution:

(a) 1L, 1I, 1N, 1E Number of ways =

(b) 3P, 2E, 1R Number of ways =

(c) 3S, 3T, 2I, 1A, 1C Number of ways =

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3. Combinations (Selections)

A combination is an unordered selection of a number of objects from a given set.

i.e. The order of the selection is not important, we are concerned only with the number of objects
in each group.

3.1 Combinations of r objects taken from n DISTINCT objects (r ≤ n)

Number of combinations of r objects from n distinct objects is nCr

n n! n(n  1)(n  2) ... (n  r  1)

where n
Cr      .
 r  ( n  r )! r! r!

Some results concerning n! and nCr Examples

(a) n !  n  n  1 n  2  ...  3 2 1 ; 5!   5  4  3 2 1
0! = 1

(b) n n! 5! 5  4  3  2 1
n
Cr     (Found in MF26)
5
C3    10
 r  r !(n  r )! 3! 5  3 !  3  2 1   2 1
 n  n 5! 5  4  3  2 1
   Cn  r
5
C2    10
nr 2! 5  2  !  2 1   3  2 1

(c) n
C1  n ; 5
C1  5 ;
n
C n  nC 0  1 5
C5  5C0  1

(d) n
Pr  n(n – 1)(n – 2)…(n – r + 1) 5!
5
P3 

n(n  1)( n  2)...( n  r  1)( n  r )...(3)(2)(1)  5  3 !
( n  r )...(3)(2)(1) 5!
n!   3!
  5  3 !3!
(n  r )!
 5 C3  3!
 Cr  r !
n

Note: nCr  r ! on the RHS is choosing r objects from a total of n objects (i.e. nCr )
followed by a permutation of these chosen r objects (i.e. r!).

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Example 7
In how many ways can a group of 3 boys be selected from 9, if
(i) there is no restriction,
(ii) the eldest is included,
(iii) the eldest is excluded?
Solution:
(i) Without any restriction, no. of selections =

(ii) If the eldest is included, we need to choose 2 more boys from the remaining 8 boys.
No. of selections =

(iii) Method 1:
If the eldest is excluded, we need to choose 3 boys from the remaining 8 boys.
No. of selections =

Method 2 (Complement Method):

No. of selections
= No of selections with no restriction - No of selections with the eldest included
=

Example 8
Out of a group of 5 boys and 4 girls, in how many ways can a party of 4 be selected to include at least
2 boys?
Solution: [Consider all possible combinations of 4 with at least 2 boys selected.]

Cases No. of Selections

2B&2G
3B&1G
4B&0G

 Total number of selections =

Think: Can we use the complement method instead?

Remark: Common mistake that students make is to choose 2 boys out of 5 first, then choose the
other 2 students from the remaining 7 i.e. 5 C 2  7 C 2 . This is wrong because there is double counting.
E.g. when B1 and B2 are selected first, followed by B3 and G1, the party of 4 would consist of B1, B2, B3
and G1 which is the same party formed when B1 and B3 are selected first, followed by B2 and G1.

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3.2 Combinations of r objects taken from n objects (r ≤ n), some of which are IDENTICAL
Greater care must be taken when selection is made on a set of objects containing identical objects. To
handle such a situation, we need to consider the possible numbers of the identical objects to be selected
as illustrated in the example below.

Example 9
A box contains seven balls: 3 red, 2 black, 1 white and 1 green. In how many ways can three balls be
chosen, assuming balls of the same colour are identical?

Solution: There are 3 cases to consider:

Case 1: All 3 balls of the same colour, i.e. red

No. of ways for all 3 balls of the same colour =

Case 2: 2 balls are of the same colour, 3rd ball is different.

The 2 balls can either be red or black , no. of ways =

The 3rd ball can be any of the remaining 3 colours (white, green or red/black),
no. of ways =
No. of ways for 2 balls of the same colour and 3rd ball to be different =

Case 3: All 3 balls are of different colours.

No. of ways for all 3 balls of different colours =

 Total no. of ways =

Remark: The key is to consider the cases using the biggest number of identical items. For instance,
in this example, 3 (red balls) is the biggest possible number of balls of the same colour, hence we use
it as Case 1, followed by 2 balls of the same colour and lastly, 1 ball of the same colour i.e. all different
colours.

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4 Useful techniques in solving Permutation and Combination questions

(A) Grouping Method

How many ways can 4 boys and 2 girls be seated in a row if the two girls are to sit next to each other?

Solution: 2 girls 1 boy 1 boy 1 boy 1 boy

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

__ _ _ _

5 units

Treating the two girls as one unit, total no. of units =

No. of ways to arrange 5 units =
No. of ways to arrange the two girls within the unit =

Total no. of ways =

(B) Slotting Method

How many ways can 4 boys and 2 girls be seated in a row if the two girls are to sit separately?

Solution:

____ ____ ____ ____

No. of ways to arrange the 4 boys =

No. of ways to slot in the 2 girls between the boys =
Total no. of ways =

(C) Complement Method

How many ways can 4 boys and 2 girls be seated in a row if the two girls are to sit separately?

Solution:
No. of ways
= No. of ways without restrictions – No. of ways such that the two girls are next to each other
=

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5 Miscellaneous examples

Example 10 (Permutations with all objects distinct)

How many ways can 6 men and 3 boys be arranged in a queue if
(i) there are no restrictions,
(ii) all 3 boys are standing together,
(iii) all 3 boys are to be separated ?
Solution:
(i) Number of ways with no restrictions =

(ii) If the 3 boys are standing next to each other, treat them as 1 unit,
 Total no. of units = 7

Number of ways of arranging the 7 units in the queue =

Number of ways of arranging the 3 boys in the unit =

 Number of ways if the 3 boys are standing next to each other =

(iii) We shall now use the slotting method:

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

No. of ways to arrange the 6 men =

No. of ways to slot in the 3 boys between the men =

Total no. of ways =

Note: From the answers in this example, we can verify that the difference between the answers in (i)
and (ii) does not give the answer in (iii). Hence, the complement method does not apply for (iii). This
is because the complement of the case where all 3 boys are separated is not all 3 boys are together. We
need to also consider the case where 2 boys are together and 1 boy is separate from them.

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Example 11 (Permutation with all objects distinct)

In how many ways can the letters of the word THOMAS be arranged if the vowels are separated.
Solution:

1T, 1H, 1O, 1M, 1A, 1S

____ ____ ____ ____

Number of ways to arrange the consonants (1T, 1H, 1M, 1S) =

Number of ways to arrange the vowels (1O, 1A) =
Total no. of ways 

Example 12 (Permutation with some objects identical)

In how many ways can the letters of the word EXPRESSION be arranged if the 2 S's are separated ?
Solution:
2E, 1X, 1P, 1R, 2S, 1I, 1O, 1N

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

No. of ways to arrange the letters without the 2 S's =

No. of ways to slot in the 2 S's =
 No. of ways in which 2 S's are separated =

Example 13 (Permutation with some objects identical)

How many 4-letter code words can be formed from the word STUTTER?

Solution: 3T, 1S, 1U, 1E, 1R

There are 4 cases to consider, starting with the highest possible number of identical letters:
Case 1: Code words contain 3 Ts and 1 other letter (1S, 1U, 1E, 1R)
No. of ways to choose 1 other letter =

Number of ways to arrange 3Ts and 1 other letter =

Case 2: Code words contain exactly 2 Ts and 2 other letters (1S, 1U, 1E, 1R)
No. of ways to choose 2 other letters =

Number of ways to arrange 2Ts and 2 other letters =

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Case 3: Code words contain 1 T and 3 other letters (1S, 1U, 1E, 1R)
No. of ways to choose 3 other different letters =

Number of ways to arrange 1 T and 3 other letters =

Case 4: Code words contain no T

Number of ways to arrange the 4 letters (1S, 1U, 1E, 1R) =
 Total number of ways =

Example 14
How many 4-digit numbers can be made from the integers 2,3, 4,5, 6, 7 if
(i) each integer is used only once?
(ii) there is no restriction on the number of times each integer can be used?
(iii) each integer is used only once and the number formed must be even?
(iv) the number formed must begin with 3 and end with 6 and each integer is used once only?

Solution:
(i) No. of 4-digit numbers =

(ii) No. of 4-digit numbers =

(iii)

No of choices No of choices for the 4th digit

for the 1st digit (attend to the condition of number formed must be even
by starting with this digit)
No of choices
for the 2nd digit
No of choices
for the 3rd digit
No. of ways =

(iv)
3 6

No of choices No of choices
for the 2nd digit for the 3rd digit

No. of ways =

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Example 15 (Multiplication Principle)

A child has 4 boxes of toys. In the first box, there are 3 identical toy cars. In the second box, there
are 4 identical toy vans. In the third box, there are 2 identical toy motorcycles. In the last box, there
is a toy garbage truck.
Find the number of ways in which the child can choose at least one toy from any of these boxes.

Solution:

4 boxes: 3 toy cars, 4 toy vans, 2 toy motorcycles, 1 toy garbage truck

Boxes: 3 4 2 1
toy cars toy vans toy motor- toy garbage
cycles truck
No. of
possible
choices:

 No. of ways to   No. of ways to 

 No. of ways =   
 choose without restrictions   choose none of the toys 

Example 16
(a) In how many ways can 6 different articles be subdivided into groups of 1, 2 and 3 articles each?
(b) In how many ways can 6 different articles be subdivided into groups of 2 articles each?

Solution:
(a) No. of ways =

(b) No. of ways =

Note: In (b), the 6 scenarios below (taken from 6 C 2  4 C 2  2 C 2 ) are considered the same way of
dividing the articles into 3 groups of 2 as they are actually permutations of (AB), (CD) and (EF).

Scenario First selection Second selection Third selection

of 2 articles of 2 articles of 2 articles
1 AB CD EF
2 AB EF CD
3 CD AB EF
4 CD EF AB
5 EF AB CD
6 EF CD AB

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6. Permutations (Arrangements) in a Circle

6.1 Seats are indistinguishable

We know that the number of ways that 3 men can be seated in a row is 3!
In how many ways can these 3 men be seated at a round table?
Let us consider 3 men sitting in a round table where the seats are indistinguishable.

A C B

(I) (II) (III)

B A B C
C A
Figure (I) Figure (II) Figure (III)

Figure (I) shows one arrangement of A, B, C. If we keep the 3 men in the same position relative to each
other and move them one position at a time anti-clockwise, we have the arrangements as shown in
figures (II) and (III).
In a circular arrangement when the seats are indistinguishable, the three arrangements above are
considered the same. Hence, for every 3 (different) arrangements in a row, it is considered as one
3!
arrangement in a circle. Thus, the total number of arrangements = = 2!
3

If the positions (seats) are indistinguishable, the number of ways of arranging n distinct objects in a
n!
circle is = (n – 1)!.
n

Example 17
In how many ways can 12 people sit around a circular table if
(i) there are no restrictions,
(ii) 2 particular people are seated next to each other.

Out of the 12 people, how many ways can 9 of them sit in a circular table for 9 people.

Solution: (Assume seats are indistinguishable)

(i) Number of ways (no restriction) =

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(ii) If 2 people are seated next to each other, treating the 2 people as 1 unit,
there are 11 units.
Number of ways to arrange the 11 units in a circle =

Number of ways to arrange the 2 people in the unit =

 Total number of ways (if 2 people are always grouped together) =

Number of ways in which 9 of the 12 people sit in a circle

 No. of ways   No. of ways to arrange 
   
=  to choose 9 people    the chosen 9 people 
 out of 12 people   in a circle 
   

Example 18
In how many ways can 4 boys and 2 girls be arranged in a circle, if the girls occupy separate places?
Solution:
Step 1: Arrange 4 boys in a circle first.

Number of ways =

Step 2: Arrange the 2 girls in between the boys.

There are exactly 4 places left between the boys to insert the girls (shown above).

No. of ways to arrange the girls in between the boys =

 No. of ways   No. of ways to insert 

 Required number of ways =  to arrange 4 boys  
   2 girls in between


 in a circle   4 boys in the circle 
   
=

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6.2 Seats are distinguishable

Consider Figure (I), (II) and (III) again. When the seats are distinguishable in a circle (either when the
seats are numbered or an object occupies a particular position), Figure (I), (II) and (III) are considered
to be 3 different arrangements.

(1)A (1) C (1)B

(2)B (2)A (3)B (2)C

(3)C (3)A
Figure (I) Figure (II) Figure (III)

If the positions (seats) are distinguishable, the number of ways of arranging n distinct objects in a
circle is  n -1 ! n .

Example 19
The seats at a round table are numbered from 1 to 7. Find the number of ways in which a committee
consisting of four men and three women can be seated at the table, if
(i) there are no restrictions.
(ii) all the men sit together.

Solution: [Note that the seats are distinct]

(i) First, assume the seats are indistinguishable:
No. of ways to arrange 7 units in the circle =

For each of the above indistinguishable arrangement, there will now be 7 possible ways of
arrangement since all the seats are distinct (numbered), i.e. every person in the indistinguishable
arrangement shifts to the right by a seat to obtain a new arrangement.

 Total number of ways (without restriction) =

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(ii) First, assume the seats are indistinguishable:

If 4 men sit together, treating them as 1 unit, there are 4 units (this particular unit and
remaining 3 women)
No. of ways to arrange the 4 units in the circle =
No. of ways to arrange 4 men in the unit =

Since the seats are numbered,

 Total number of ways =

Annex
Using the TI-84 Plus Graphing Calculator

(i) To evaluate 5 P2 :

Method 1: Press

Method 2: Key in then press to display the “PROB” menu and select

for permutation and then key in and then .

(ii) To evaluate 5 C 2 :

Method 1: Press

Method 2: Press to display the “PROB” menu and select for

combination, then .

(iii) To evaluate 4!:

Method 1: Press

Method 2: Key in then press to display the “PROB” menu and select for

factorial and then .

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