Comprehensive Worksheet: Permutations and

Combinations
Prepared By Muhammad Adnan: Applied Maths Faculty

Basic Concepts and Formulas

• Permutation (Arrangement): Order matters.

n n!
Pr = P (n, r) =
(n − r)!

• Combination (Selection): Order does not matter.

 
n n n!
Cr = C(n, r) = =
r r!(n − r)!

• Fundamental Principle of Counting: If one operation can be performed in m ways

and a second operation can be performed in n ways, then the two operations can be
performed together in m × n ways.

• Permutations with Repetition: The number of distinct permutations of n objects

where one object is repeated r1 times, another r2 times, etc., is:
n!
r1 ! r2 ! . . . rk !

Part A: Fundamental Principle of Counting

1. A restaurant offers 4 types of starters, 7 main courses, and 3 desserts. How many
different three-course meals are possible?

2. How many 3-digit numbers can be formed from the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 if:

(a) repetition of digits is allowed?

(b) repetition of digits is not allowed?

3. A student has 5 different shirts, 3 different pairs of pants, and 2 pairs of shoes. How
many different outfits (shirt, pant, shoes) can they wear?

4. How many different outcomes are possible when a coin is tossed 5 times?

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 5. A license plate consists of 3 letters followed by 3 digits. How many different license
plates can be made if:

(a) letters and digits can be repeated?

(b) no repetition of letters or digits is allowed?
(c) the first letter must be a vowel (A, E, I, O, U) and the first digit cannot be 0?

6. A multiple-choice test has 10 questions. Each question has 4 choices. In how many
ways can a student answer the test if they answer every question?

Part B: Permutations (Arrangements)

7. Evaluate the following:

(a) 6 P2
(b) 8 P4
7
P5
(c) 7P
3
(d) P (5, 3)
(e) P (7, 2) × P (5, 2)

8. The number of permutations of the letters of the word ’APPLE’ is:

9. How many distinct ways can the letters of the word ’COMBINATION’ be arranged?

10. How many distinct arrangements can be made from the letters of the word ’MATHE-
MATICS’ ?

11. In how many ways can 5 different books be arranged on a shelf?

12. In how many ways can 4 boys and 3 girls be arranged in a row if:

(a) there are no restrictions?

(b) the boys and girls must alternate?
(c) all the boys must sit together?
(d) all the girls must not sit together?
(e) two particular boys must not sit together?

13. How many 4-digit even numbers can be formed using the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 if no
digit is repeated?

14. How many 4-digit numbers greater than 3000 can be formed from the digits 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6 if no digit is repeated?

15. In how many ways can 6 people be seated around a circular table?

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16. In how many ways can 5 different necklaces be arranged on a circular clasp?

17. Find the number of ways to arrange the letters of the word ’ENGINEERING’. How
many of these arrangements have all the E’s together?

18. How many 5-digit numbers can be formed using the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 that are
divisible by 2? (Digits can be repeated)

Part C: Combinations (Selections)

19. Evaluate the following:

(a) 6 C2
(b) 8 C4
(c) n C3 if n C4 =n C7
(d) 10


3
9
(e) 2 × 73

(f) nr if nr = r+2 n




and n = 12

20. A college basketball team has 12 players. The coach needs to select a starting team of
5 players.

(a) How many different teams can the coach choose?

(b) If a specific player, the team captain, must be in the starting team, how many
different teams can be formed?
(c) Two players on the team do not get along and cannot be on the court at the same
time. How many different teams can be formed with this new rule?

21. An office has 20 employees. The company needs to form a committee of 5 members.

(a) In how many ways can the committee be formed?

(b) If the committee must include the manager, who is one of the 20 employees, in
how many ways can the committee be formed?
(c) If the committee must include the manager but not the assistant manager, in how
many ways can the committee be formed?
(d) If the committee must have at least one senior employee (there are 8 seniors), how
many ways are there?

22. A standard deck of 52 cards is used. How many different 5-card hands are possible?

23. How many different 5-card hands contain:

(a) all hearts?

(b) exactly 2 aces?

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 (c) at least one king?
(d) a full house (3 of one kind and 2 of another)?
(e) two pairs?

24. From a group of 7 men and 6 women, how many ways are there to form a committee
of 5 people if:

(a) there are no restrictions?

(b) the committee must have 3 men and 2 women?
(c) the committee must have at least 3 men?
(d) the committee must have more women than men?
(e) the committee must include at least one man and one woman?

25. A pizza shop offers 15 different toppings. How many different pizzas can be ordered
with:

(a) 4 toppings?
(b) at most 4 toppings?
(c) at least 2 but no more than 5 toppings?

26. How many triangles can be formed from 12 points on a plane where no three points
are collinear?

27. How many diagonals does a convex 12-sided polygon have?

28. Prove the following combinatorial identities:

(a) n Cr =n Cn−r
(b) n Cr +n Cr−1 =n+1 Cr
(c) n C0 +n C1 +n C2 + · · · +n Cn = 2n

Part D: Mixed and Challenging Problems

29. How many distinct diagonals does a convex octagon have?

30. A test has 12 questions. A student must answer any 8 questions. How many choices
does the student have if they must answer at least 4 of the first 6 questions?

31. Using the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, how many 4-digit numbers can be formed that are
divisible by 5? (Repetition is not allowed)

32. There are 10 points on a plane, no three of which are collinear.

(a) How many straight lines can be drawn using these points?

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 (b) How many triangles can be formed using these points as vertices?
(c) How many quadrilaterals can be formed?

33. A student must answer 8 out of 10 questions on an exam.

(a) How many choices does the student have?

(b) How many choices if the first two questions must be answered?
(c) How many choices if the student must answer at least 4 of the first 5 questions?

34. Find the number of ways to choose two teams of 5 players each from a group of 10
people.

35. How many different words can be formed by using all the letters of the word ’AR-
RANGE’ ? How many of these arrangements have the two R’s and two A’s not coming
together?

36. A committee of 5 is to be chosen from 6 men and 4 women. In how many ways can
this be done if:

(a) the committee includes exactly 2 women?

(b) the committee includes at least 2 women?
(c) the committee includes at most 2 women?

37. How many different sums of money can be formed by choosing 3 coins from a collection
of 5 different pennies, 4 different nickels, and 3 different dimes?

38. Find the number of ways to distribute 10 identical candies among 4 children so that
each child gets at least one candy.

39. How many solutions does the equation x + y + z = 15 have, where x, y, z are non-
negative integers?

40. How many solutions does the equation x + y + z = 15 have, where x, y, z are positive
integers?

41. In how many ways can 5 identical balls be distributed among 3 different boxes?

42. In how many ways can 5 different balls be distributed among 3 different boxes?