Permutations and Combinations

Problems | GMAT GRE Maths Tutorial

By MBA Crystal Ball on September 25, 2015 Tags Categories

In this article you’ll learn about Permutation and Combination problems: Definition,
formulas, solved examples and a quiz with practice questions.

Permutations
Definition

Permutations are the different ways in which a collection of items can be arranged.

For example:
The different ways in which the alphabets A, B and C can be grouped together, taken
all at a time, are ABC, ACB, BCA, CBA, CAB, BAC.
Note that ABC and CBA are not same as the order of arrangement is different. The
same rule applies while solving any problem in Permutations.

The number of ways in which n things can be arranged, taken all at a time, nPn = n!,
called ‘n factorial.’

Factorial Formula
Factorial of a number n is defined as the product of all the numbers from n to 1.

For example, the factorial of 5, 5! = 5*4*3*2*1 = 120.

Therefore, the number of ways in which the 3 letters can be arranged, taken all a
time, is 3! = 3*2*1 = 6 ways.
Number of permutations of n things, taken r at a time, denoted by:
nP = n! / (n-r)!
r

For example:

The different ways in which the 3 letters, taken 2 at a time, can be arranged is 3!/(3-
2)! = 3!/1! = 6 ways.

Important Permutation Formulas

1! = 1

0! = 1
Let us take a look at some examples:

Problem 1: Find the number of words, with or without meaning, that can be formed
with the letters of the word ‘CHAIR’.

Solution:

‘CHAIR’ contains 5 letters.

Therefore, the number of words that can be formed with these 5 letters = 5! =
5*4*3*2*1 = 120.

Problem 2: Find the number of words, with or without meaning, that can be formed
with the letters of the word ‘INDIA’.

Solution:
The word ‘INDIA’ contains 5 letters and ‘I’ comes twice.

When a letter occurs more than once in a word, we divide the factorial of the number
of all letters in the word by the number of occurrences of each letter.

Therefore, the number of words formed by ‘INDIA’ = 5!/2! = 60.

Problem 3: Find the number of words, with or without meaning, that can be formed
with the letters of the word ‘SWIMMING?

Solution:
The word ‘SWIMMING contains 8 letters. Of which, I occurs twice and M occurs
twice.

Therefore, the number of words formed by this word = 8! / (2!*2!) = 10080.

Problem 4: How many different words can be formed with the letters of the word
‘SUPER’ such that the vowels always come together?

Solution:

The word ‘SUPER’ contains 5 letters.

In order to find the number of permutations that can be formed where the two
vowels U and E come together.

In these cases, we group the letters that should come together and consider that
group as one letter.

So, the letters are S,P,R, (UE). Now the number of words are 4.

Therefore, the number of ways in which 4 letters can be arranged is 4!

In U and E, the number of ways in which U and E can be arranged is 2!
Hence, the total number of ways in which the letters of the ‘SUPER’ can be arranged
such that vowels are always together are 4! * 2! = 48 ways.

Problem 5: Find the number of different words that can be formed with the letters
of the word ‘BUTTER’ so that the vowels are always together.

Solution:
The word ‘BUTTER’ contains 6 letters.

The letters U and E should always come together. So the letters are B, T, T, R, (UE).

Number of ways in which the letters above can be arranged = 5!/2! = 60 (since the
letter ‘T’ is repeated twice).

Number of ways in which U and E can be arranged = 2! = 2 ways

Therefore, total number of permutations possible = 60*2 = 120 ways.

Problem 6: Find the number of permutations of the letters of the word ‘REMAINS’
such that the vowels always occur in odd places.
Solution:

The word ‘REMAINS’ has 7 letters.

There are 4 consonants and 3 vowels in it.

Writing in the following way makes it easier to solve these type of questions.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

No. of ways 3 vowels can occur in 4 different places = 4P3 = 24 ways.

After 3 vowels take 3 places, no. of ways 4 consonants can take 4 places = 4P4 = 4! =
24 ways.
Therefore, total number of permutations possible = 24*24 = 576 ways.

Combinations
Definition

The different selections possible from a collection of items are called combinations.

For example:

The different selections possible from the alphabets A, B, C, taken 2 at a time, are AB,
BC and CA.

It does not matter whether we select A after B or B after A. The order of selection is
not important in combinations.
To find the number of combinations possible from a given group of items n, taken r
at a time, the formula, denoted by nCr is

nC = n! / [r! * (n-r)!]
r

For example, verifying the above example, the different selections possible from the
alphabets A, B, C, taken two at a time are
3C = 3! / (2! * (3-2)!) = 3 possible selections (i.e., AB, BC, CA)
2

Important Combination formulas

nC = 1
n

nC = 1
0

nC = n
1

nC = nC
r (n-r)

The number of selections possible with A, B, C, taken all at a time is 3C3 = 1 (i.e. ABC)

Solved examples of Combination

Let us take a look at some examples to understand how Combinations work:

Problem 1: In how many ways can a committee of 1 man and 3 women can be
formed from a group of 3 men and 4 women?

Solution:

No. of ways 1 man can be selected from a group of 3 men = 3C1 = 3! / 1!*(3-1)! = 3
ways.

No. of ways 3 women can be selected from a group of 4 women = 4C3 = 4! / (3!*1!) =
4 ways.

Problem 2: Among a set of 5 black balls and 3 red balls, how many selections of 5
balls can be made such that at least 3 of them are black balls.
Solution:
Selecting at least 3 black balls from a set of 5 black balls in a total selection of 5 balls
can be

3 B and 2 R
4 B and 1 R and
5 B and 0 R balls.

Therefore, our solution expression looks like this.

5C * 3C + 5C * 3C + 5C * 3C = 46 ways .
3 2 4 1 5 0

Problem 3: How many 4 digit numbers that are divisible by 10 can be formed from
the numbers 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 0 such that no number repeats?

Solution:
If a number is divisible by 10, its units place should contain a 0.
___0
After 0 is placed in the units place, the tens place can be filled with any of the other 5
digits.

Selecting one digit out of 5 digits can be done in 5C1 = 5 ways.

After filling the tens place, we are left with 4 digits. Selecting 1 digit out of 4 digits can
be done in 4C1 = 4 ways.

After filling the hundreds place, the thousands place can be filled in 3C1 = 3 ways.

Therefore, the total combinations possible = 5*4*3 = 60.

Permutations and Combinations Quiz

Try these practice problems.

Problem 1

Solve the following.

i) 30P2
ii) 30C2

A. 870, 435
B. 435, 870
C. 870, 470
D. 435, 835

Answer 1

Problem 2

Answer 2
 Problem 3

Answer 3

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41 Comments

minaxi thakur says: Reply

August 24, 2017 at 1:04 pm

How many six letter word can be formed with the letters of the word
‘policy’ such that the vowel can only occur even place?

Abhinav says: Reply

August 27, 2017 at 7:26 pm

6 ways for arranging 2 vowels * 24 ways for arranging 4

consonants =144

Absar says: Reply

November 14, 2017 at 4:08 pm

how many different arrangements can be made by using all the letters
of the word MATHEMATICS ? How many of them begin with C? How
many of them begin with T? In how many of them consonants will
occur together?

Krishna says: Reply

April 2, 2018 at 11:51 am
1. 11!/2!*2!*2!
2.10!/2!*2!*2!
3.(2!*10!)/2!*2!*2!
4.(4!*7!)/2!*2!*2!
Correct me if its worng!

Satyajit Rana says: Reply

September 10, 2018 at 6:47 pm

How the answer of 3 is (2!*10!)/(2!*2!*2!). As per

my understanding it should be (10!)/(2!*2!). The
answer is same but the approach should be
different.

Mohd Sajid says: Reply

October 12, 2018 at 9:51 am
Ans of 4 should be (5!*7!)/2!*21*2!

Sein says: Reply

December 30, 2017 at 8:19 pm

A bag contains 2 white and 3 red balls. In how many ways can 3 balls
be chosen if,at least one ball must be white?

Vineet says: Reply

March 14, 2018 at 3:17 pm

2C2 * 3C1 + 2C1 * 3C2

Krishna says: Reply

April 2, 2018 at 11:55 am

2c1*3c2+2c2*3c1=12
 madhushree says: Reply
September 30, 2018 at 12:25 am

The ans is 9 not 12

Virginia says: Reply

September 21, 2019 at 9:30 pm
I don’t understand. Does the order in which
you draw the white balls matter? If so, I
figure 6 ways. If all that matters is whether
or not your three balls are comprised of 2
whites or 1 white then the answer is 2.
Please explain. Maybe the question is not
fully developed..? Or maybe my answers
aren’t fully developed! HELP!

Virginia says: Reply

September 22, 2019 at 7:14 pm

There are two ways to choose three balls

and have at least one be white. You can
either choose one white and two red or two
white and one red. Arrangement doesn’t
matter. The answer is two.
Try checking your answer by attempting to
write out 9 or 12 ways of choosing the balls.

Jatin says: Reply

February 13, 2018 at 9:55 pm

How many words can be formed of the letter TOPOLOGY in which

two vowels are never together.

Krishna says: Reply

April 2, 2018 at 12:00 pm

(8!/3!)-(7!*3p2)
Correct me if it’s wrong!

anand says: Reply

May 12, 2018 at 8:22 pm
 you have approached this same as PROBLEM 2. But
3 O’s make your situation complicated. Try finding
the answer as in example 6 from permutaion.
Answer should be 2400. (5! * 6C3 ). (NOTE: here
you have to use 6C3 instead of 6P3)

shuvam says: Reply

July 30, 2018 at 1:18 pm

i think it should be 8!/3! – 6!*3!/3!

= 6720-720= 6000

Paresh Nayyar says: Reply

November 24, 2018 at 12:02 am
The correct answer for this 2400.
First take all the consonants together : TPLGY.
These can be arranged in following ways : 5! = 120
Now make an arrangement like this :
_T_P_L_G_Y_. This ensure no two vowels will be
together. The number of ways you can do this
P(6,3)/3! = 20 (divide by 3! because vowels are
‘0’,’0′ and ‘0’, three times repetition) .
Now just multiply these two possibilities: 120 * 20 =
2400

Zmh says: Reply

September 25, 2019 at 7:11 pm

Instead of P(6,3)/3!, can we write C(6,3)?

Alex says: Reply

October 13, 2019 at 2:05 pm

One ball must be white, so we keep it fixed. That leaves us

with 4 choices for the remaining 2 slots.
So, 4 ways to choose the first ball and 3 ways to choose the
second one, 3*4= 12
Isn’t that an easier approach?

Raisa says: Reply

March 1, 2018 at 7:06 pm

Hiya, Have a doubt. Combinations problem 3 – “Therefore, the total

combinations possible = 5*4*3 = 60.”
Why are we multiplying the combinations and not adding them up to
get the total numbers?

anand says: Reply

May 12, 2018 at 8:14 pm

these 3 events occur simultaneously, and independently. try

finding the combination of dress code u can come up with 3
shirt and 2 pants. in these situation multiplication gives you
total possible combination.

Sagar says: Reply

September 7, 2019 at 8:58 am

you have 3 shirts and 2 pants you can wear one

pants and one shirt at a time so it will be 3^C1*2^C1
= 3×2 = 6.

TheByronSiren says: Reply

January 11, 2020 at 4:06 am

I understand 60 as the answer, but should this not be a

permutation to get there? As in, we do not care the order, 3-
5-7 and 5-3-7 yield us two results. Or am I missing
something?
Using the equations: 5C3 = 10 vs. 5P3 = 60
Please help!

Pradeep says: Reply

March 30, 2018 at 1:47 am

How many different 4 letters words can be formed from the word
examination

Drumil says: Reply

July 28, 2018 at 11:27 pm

A coustomer forgets a four digit ATM code.He remembers that this

code consist of digits 3,5,6,9. Find the maximum no. of trails he
needed to make to obtain the code?
 justin says: Reply
June 11, 2019 at 9:43 am

4 choices for the first number, 3 for the second, 2 for the
third, and 1 for the last. So answer is 4! = 24

imtiaz says: Reply

September 27, 2018 at 8:42 am

With the word TOMORROW, how many different words can you form
such that the vowels in the words should not come together?

Zmh says: Reply

September 25, 2019 at 7:22 pm

2400, I think.

Samir khatri says: Reply

March 8, 2019 at 4:19 pm
There are 10 bus service from place A to B .In how many ways can a
man go from A to B and return by different bus?

Arshad Ali says: Reply

August 31, 2019 at 10:45 pm
10 × 9 =90

Ciraine says: Reply

July 14, 2019 at 5:40 pm
I think it’s 6. 2C1x3C2=6

Brent Ordono says: Reply

August 14, 2019 at 8:16 am
I have 5 baskets labelled A, B, C, D and E. Each basket can have any
number of potatoes between 1 and 10 inclusive per harvest. What’s the
probability that I will have 10 potatoes each for baskets A, C and D, no
matter the values in basket B and E?
Yussuf says: Reply
August 21, 2019 at 11:25 pm
How many 4-letter code-word can be formed from the letter of the
word MATHEMATICS

Virginia says: Reply

September 21, 2019 at 10:02 pm

How many four letter codes? Or code- WORDS? It actually

has to be a four letter word?

Virginia says: Reply

September 21, 2019 at 10:20 pm
It’s 130 if you want words. Possibly 2454 if you just want
letter combinations that aren’t necessarily words.

Zmh says: Reply

September 25, 2019 at 7:49 pm
I think, 11×11×11×11=14641.

amolap says: Reply

November 7, 2019 at 5:00 pm
I think its….
11p4=(11!)
——-
(11-4)!

Siddhi Lakkad says: Reply

August 22, 2019 at 6:09 pm
How many different 3 digit numbers can be formed,such that tens
digit is prime?

Virginia says: Reply

September 21, 2019 at 9:34 pm
486 if repetition is allowed.
oballum george says: Reply
October 5, 2019 at 9:04 pm
in how many ways can 9 men be seated at a round table if 3 particular
men must not sit together. please i need detailed answer to this.

Bandery Dainty says:

October 12, 2019 at 3:38 pm
How many codes can be formed with 2figures with the first being non
zero,2 vowels and 3different or distinct figures,please for the solution
of this question?