Don’t hesitate to contact me

for clarifications and assistance

with regards to our lesson.

-Sir Aldrin
 QUARTER 3– LAS Number 4

#4
LESSON: SOLVING COMBINATION PROBLEMS
Mr. Aldrin A. Leonidas

In the last Activity Sheet, we learned to identify combination problems over permutation
ones. If you have noticed, combinations usually decrease the number of permutations because
we do not need any group to be in a particular order. In easier ways, we count combinations by
group and not necessarily by order; while in permutation we count by arrangements and the
order of each member of the group is significant. Of significant note, in the English language we
use the word “combination” to name groups and not necessarily as a permutation or a
combination. XD

Although I do not encourage gambling, being a mathematician initiates us to investigate

real-life situations where application of our knowledge is practical. Let us take note of the following
PCSO lottery draw game rules:

STL Pares Rule: Uses a single-chambered machine which draws 2 numbers from 1
to 40. After the first number is drawn, the machine is restarted to draw the second
number. To win the pot, one must match the 2 numbers in exact order.

Lotto 6/42 Rule: A 6-number combination is chosen from a lot of numbers from 1
to 42. To win the jackpot, your chosen 6 numbers must match with those of the 6
winning numbers regardless of order.
By looking at the definitions, we can clearly identify that STL Pares utilizes Permutation
to derive the number of possible winning number pairs. If your chosen pair is 3,1 and the
resulting winning number is 1,3 you will not win the jackpot prize. Since by order, 3,1 is NOT
1,3.
On the other hand, Lotto 6/42 utilizes Combination to derive the number of possible
winning number combinations. If you bet on the combination 4,12,35,42,11,10 and the winning
combo turns out to be 12,35,11,4,10,42 you still win the jackpot.

SO HOW DO WE SOLVE COMBINATION PROBLEMS?

Solving combination problems is like solving permutations but then you get rid of
repetitions.
Problem1. How many 3-member sets of letters can we derive from 6 given letters?
The solution will be to solve the problem first by Permutation…
𝑛! 6! 6! 6𝑥5𝑥4𝑥3𝑥2𝑥1
6 𝑃3 = (𝑛−𝑟)!
= (6−3)!
=
3!
=
3𝑥2𝑥1
= 6𝑥5𝑥4 = 120 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑢𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠

And to solve for the combination we will simply divide the permutation answer by 3! to remove
the repetitions or…
𝑛! 𝑛! 𝑛 𝑃𝑟 120 120 120
6 𝐶3 =
𝑟!(𝑛−𝑟)!
=
𝑟!(𝑛−𝑟)!
=
𝑟!
=
3!
=
3𝑥2𝑥1
=
6
= 20 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠
 To outline the solution graphically, we use A B C D E F as the 6 letters to choose from. If
we were looking for permutations then we will have 120 possibilities of 3-letter groups as shown
below left. But since we are looking for 3-letter sets where order is not counted or combinations,
we will identify those groups with same members and count them as 1.

120 Permutations only 20 Combinations

ABC ABE ACD ACF BCF AEF BDF DEF BDE BCE ABC ABE ACD ACF
ACB AEB ADC AFC BFC AFE BFD DFE BED BEC
BAC BAE DAC CAF CBF EAF DBF EDF EBD CBE BCF AEF BDF DEF
BCA BEA DCA CFA CFB EFA DFB EFD EDB CEB
CAB EAB CAD FAC FBC FAE FBD FDE DBE EBC BDE BCE ABD ABF
CBA EBA CDA FCA FCB FEA FDB FED DEB ECB
ADE ADF CFD ACE
ABD ABF ADE ADF CFD ACE CEF BEF BCD CDE
ADB AFB AED AFD CDF AEC CFE BFE BDC CED CEF BEF BCD CDE
BDA BAF DAE DAF DCF CAE ECF EBF CBD DCE
BAD BFA DEA DFA DFC CEA EFC EFB CDB DEC
DBA FAB EAD FAD FCD EAC FEC FBE DBC EDC
DAB FBA EDA FDA FDC ECA FCE FEB DCB ECD

In combinations, we consider each 3-letter group containing similar letters as 1.

To sum it all up, the formula for solving combination problems is basically the number of
permutations divided by r!

𝑛 𝑃𝑟 𝑛!
𝑛 𝐶𝑟 = 𝑟!
or 𝑛 𝐶𝑟 = (𝑛−𝑟)!𝑟!

Problem2. Solve the following problems:

5! 5𝑥4𝑥3𝑥2𝑥1 5𝑥4 20
1. C(5,2) = (5−2)!2! = = = = 10
(3𝑥2𝑥1)(2𝑥1) 2𝑥1 2

4! 4𝑥3𝑥2𝑥1 4
2. 4C1= (4−1)!1! = = =4
(3𝑥2𝑥1)(1) 1

3! 3𝑥2𝑥1 3𝑥2𝑥1
3. C(3,3)= (3−3)!3!
= = =1
0!3𝑥2𝑥1 1𝑥3𝑥2𝑥1

Take note that 0! = 1 and n Cr where n = r will always be equal to 1.

 #4 MATH 10 LESSON OUTPUTS
NOTE: This will also serve as your output. There is no need for paper anymore.
You may write on this sheet.

NAME: SECTION:_____________

Problem 1. A group of 25 people are going to run a race. The top 8

1
finishers advance to the finals. In how many ways can we have 8
finishers?

2
Problem2. Solve the following problems:

1. C(9,7)

2. 8C1

3. C(200,200)