Permutation and Combination

Permutation: A permutation means

arrangement of things taken one or more at
a time.

Some Notations:
The notation 𝒏! (factorial of 𝒏) denotes the
product of first 𝒏 positive integers.
𝒏! = 𝟏. 𝟐. 𝟑. 𝟒 … … . . (𝒏 − 𝟏). 𝒏
e.g., 𝟕! = 𝟏. 𝟐. 𝟑. 𝟒. 𝟓. 𝟔. 𝟕 = 𝟓𝟎𝟒𝟎.
When 𝒏 and 𝒓 are positive integers and and 𝒓 ≤
𝒏, then the product of 𝒓 consecutive inegers in
deceasing order beginning from 𝒏 is denoted by

𝒏𝑷𝒓 = 𝒏. (𝒏 − 𝟏). (𝒏 − 𝟐) … … (𝒏 − 𝒓 + 𝟏)

e.g., 𝟕𝑷𝟑 =7.6.5=210.

𝒏𝑷𝒓 = 𝒏. (𝒏 − 𝟏). (𝒏 − 𝟐) … … (𝒏 − 𝒓 + 𝟏)
𝒏.(𝒏−𝟏).(𝒏−𝟐)……(𝒏−𝒓+𝟏)(𝒏−𝒓)…𝟑.𝟐.𝟏
= (𝒏−𝒓)…𝟑.𝟐.𝟏
𝒏!
= .
(𝒏−𝒓)!
 𝒏!
Note: 𝟎! = 𝟏, 𝒏𝑷𝒏 =
(𝒏−𝒏)!
= 𝒏!,
𝒏!
𝒏𝑷𝟎 = =1.
(𝒏−𝟎)!

Permutation of Different Things:

The number of permutations of 𝒏 different
things taken 𝒓 at a time is 𝒏𝑷𝒓 .

Prob.(1)
How many numbers each lying between
1,000 and 10,000 can be formed with the
digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.( no digit being
repeated)
Solution:
Since the number lie between 1000 and 10000,
it is clear that the number must be of 4 digits.
Hence the required number of numbers = the
number of permutations of the given 7 different
digits taken 4 at a time=𝟕𝑷𝟒 =7×6×5×4=840.

Prob. (2). How many 4 letter words, with or

without meaning, can be formed out of the
letters of the word “ WONDER ”, if repetition of
letters is not allowed?
Answer: 𝟔𝑷𝟒 =6× 𝟓 × 𝟒 × 𝟑=360.

Permutation of Things which are not Different

The number of 𝒏 things taken all at a

time where 𝒑 things are alike of one
kind, 𝒒 things are alike of other kind and
𝒓 things are alike of another kind
𝒏!
is .
𝒑!×𝒒!×𝒓!
Example:
Find the number of arrangements of the
letters of following words:
(a) CALCUTTA
(b) PERMUTATION

Answer:
(a) The word “CALCUTTA”
consists of 8 letters of which 2 are
C’s, 2 are A’s , 2 are T’s.

Therefore required number of

8!
arrangements = =5040.
2!×2!×2!
 (b) The word “PERMUTATION”
consists of 11 letters of which 2 are
T’s.
Therefore required number of
11!
arrangements = =19958400.
2!
Prob.(3) Find the number of
arrangements that can be made with the
letters of the word “MATHEMATICS”.

Solution: The word “MATHEMATICS”

consists of 11 letters of which 2 are M’s, 2
are A’s , 2 are T’s.
Therefore required number of
11!
arrangements = =4989600.
2!×2!×2!
Prob.(4) Find the number of
arrangements that can be made with the
letters of the word “STATISTICS”.

10!
Answer: =50400.
3!×3!×2!
Example
In how many ways can the letters of the
word “ALGEBRA” be arranged, so that
two A’s are never together?
Solution:
Total number of arrangements with the
letters of the word “ALGEBRA”
𝟕!
= .
𝟐!

So the number of ways the letters can

arrange such that A’s are always
together is =(7-1)! = 𝟔!.
Therefore the number of ways the letters
can arrange such that A’s are never
𝟕!
together is= − 𝟔! = 𝟏𝟖𝟎𝟎.
𝟐!
Prob.(4) What is the number of distinct
arrangements of the letters of the word
“UGCCSIR” so that ‘U’ and ‘I’ cannot
come together.

Prob.(5) How many words can made

from the letters of the word “COSTING”
so that vowels (i) are always together,
(ii) are never together, (iii) may occupy
odd position.
Solution of Prob(4): Total number of
arrangements with the letters of the
word “UGCCSIR”
𝟕!
= .
𝟐!

Total number of arrangements where ‘U’

𝟔!
and ‘I’ together is = × 𝟐!,
𝟐!

since ‘U’ and ‘I’ commutes with each

other in 𝟐! ways.
𝟕!
Our required ways= – 6!=1800.
𝟐!
Solution of Prob.(5).

There are 7 different letters they can

arrange in 7! Ways.
(i) If the vowels O, I together the
remaining are arrange 6! Ways and
O,I arrange among themselves 2!
Ways.
So the number of ways the letters
can arrange such that vowels are
together is=6!× 𝟐!=1440.
(ii) Clearly the number ways we can
arrange the letters such that
vowels are never together=7!-
1440=5040-1440=3600.
(iii) Since the letters of the word
‘COSTING’ are arrange in 7 places,
So there are 4 odd places,
two letters O, I can be arrange in
four places in 𝟒𝑷𝟐 ways.
Other 5 letters can be arranged in
5 places 5! Ways.
The required number of words in
which the vowels always occupy
odd places = 𝟒𝑷𝟐 × 𝟓!=120× 𝟏𝟐 =
𝟏𝟒𝟒𝟎.
Prob.(6) In how many ways can the
letters of the word ‘BUSINESS’ be
arranged so that the vowels always
occupy the odd places?

𝟓!
Answer: 𝟒𝑷𝟑 ×
𝟑!
=480

Prob.(6). In how many ways can the

letters of the word ‘ASSASSINATION’ be
arranged? In how many of these
arrangements the four S’s do not come
together? In how many arrangements
the vowels always come together?
Solution:

Letter S A I N T O Total
Number 4 3 2 2 1 1 13
Total number of arrangements
(𝟏𝟑)!
= =10810800.
𝟒!𝟑!𝟐!𝟐!

Four S’s come together we consider, we

consider four S’s as single letter. Then
we will get the 10 letters in all with three
A’s, two I’s and two N’s .
The number of arrangements in which
(𝟏𝟎)!
four S’s do come together= =151200.
𝟑!𝟐!𝟐!

Hence, the number of arrangements in

which four S’s does not come together
(𝟏𝟑)! (𝟏𝟎)!
= − = 𝟏𝟎𝟖𝟏𝟎𝟖𝟎𝟎 −
𝟒!𝟑!𝟐!𝟐! 𝟑!𝟐!𝟐!
𝟏𝟓𝟏𝟐𝟎𝟎 = 𝟏𝟎𝟔𝟓𝟗𝟔𝟎𝟎.
There are 6 vowels in the given word
(three A’s , two I’s and one O’).
Considering these six vowels as a single
letter we get in all 8 letters with four S’s
and two N’s.
These 8 letters can be arranged among
(𝟖)!
themselves in =840 ways and for
𝟒!𝟐!
each of these arrangements the six
vowels can arrange among themselves in
(𝟔)!
=60 ways.
𝟑!𝟐!
The required number of arrangements in
which six vowels together= 840× 𝟔𝟎 =
𝟓𝟎𝟒𝟎𝟎.
Restricted Permutations:
The number of 𝒏 things taken 𝒓 at a time
such that 𝒎 particular things
(i) never occur is 𝒏 − 𝒎𝑷𝒓
(ii) always occur is 𝒓𝑷𝒎 × 𝒏 − 𝒎𝑷𝒓−𝒎 .

Prob.(7) Find the number of permutations

of 9 persons in 5 chairs so that 2 particular
persons are
(i) never offered the chairs and
(ii) always offered the chairs
Solution:
(i) Excluding 2 particular persons who are
not offered the chairs, we have (9-2),
i.e., 7 persons from whom we have to fill
up 5 chairs. Thus, the number of
permutations is 𝟕𝑷𝟓 = 𝟐𝟓𝟐𝟎.
(ii)

2 particular persons who are

always offered the chairs can
occupy their places in any 2 of the
5 chairs in 𝟓𝑷𝟐 ways. The
remaining (𝟓 − 𝟐) = 𝟑 chairs can
be filled in from remaining (𝟗 −
𝟐) = 𝟕 persons in 𝟕𝑷𝟑 ways.
So the required number of permutations
is 𝟓𝑷𝟐 × 𝟕𝑷𝟑 = 𝟒𝟐𝟎𝟎.
Example
How many arrangements can be made
from the letters of the word
“EQUATION”, so that the vowels remain
in the order A, E, I, O, U.

𝟖!
Answer: = 𝟑𝟑𝟔.
𝟓!

Example:
In how many ways can the letters of the
word “FATHER” be arranged? In how
many of them T occupies the third place?
How many of them T occupies the third
place but R does not occupy the last
place?
Solution:
Total number of arrangements = 𝟔! =
𝟕𝟐𝟎.
So number of arrangements where T
occupies the third place= (𝟔 − 𝟏)! =
𝟓! = 𝟏𝟐𝟎
Number of arrangements where T
occupies the third place and R occupy
the last place = (𝟔 − 𝟐)! = 𝟒!
Therefore number of arrangements
where T occupies the third place and R
does not occupy the last place= 𝟓! −
𝟒! = 𝟗𝟔.
Permutation with Repetition
The number of permutations of
𝒏 different things taken 𝒓 at a time when
there is no restriction on the repetition
of things is 𝒏𝒓 .

Prob.(8) In how many ways can 4 prizes

be distributed among 6 boys when each
boy is eligible to receive any number of
prizes?
Answer: 6× 𝟔 × 𝟔 × 𝟔 = 𝟔𝟒
 Combination

Definition: A combination means

selection or grouping of things taken one
or more at a time.

𝒏𝑷 𝒓 𝒏!
Notations: 𝒏𝑪𝒓 = = (𝒏−𝒓)!×𝒓!
𝒓!
𝟓!
e.g., 𝟓𝑪𝟐 = =10
𝟑!×𝟐!

Observations: 𝒏𝑪𝟏 = 𝒏, 𝒏𝑪𝒏 = 𝟏,

𝒏𝑪𝟎 = 𝟏.
Combination of Different Things
The number of combination of 𝒏
different things taken 𝒓 at a time is 𝒏𝑪𝒓

Prob.(8) From a class of 30 students, 3

students are to be selected to take part
in a competition. How many such
selections can be made?

Answer: The required number of

selections is = 𝟑𝟎𝑪𝟑 =4060.
Prob.(9) In how many way can a
committee of 5 be formed from 4
professors and 6 students so as to
include at least 2 professors?

Solution:
The required committee can be formed
in the following different ways:
(i) with 2 professor and 3 students;
(ii) with 3 professor and 2 students;
(iii) with 4 professor and 1 students.
Now
(i) 2 professor can be selected from 4
professors in 𝟒𝑪𝟐 ways and 3
 students can be selected from 6
students in 𝟔𝑪𝟑 ways;
Number committee in case (i) is
= 𝟒𝑪𝟐 × 𝟔𝑪𝟑 = 𝟏𝟐𝟎.
Similarly number of committee in case(ii)
is 𝟒𝑪𝟑 × 𝟔𝑪𝟐 = 𝟔𝟎.
Similarly number of committee in
case(iii) is 𝟒𝑪𝟒 × 𝟔𝑪𝟏 = 𝟔.
Hence, the required number of
committees = 𝟏𝟐𝟎 + 𝟔𝟎 + 𝟔 = 186.

Problem (10): Determine the number of

ways of choosing 5 cards out of a deck of
52 cards which include exactly one ace.
Answer: 𝟒𝑪𝟏 × 𝟒𝟖𝑪𝟒 = 𝟕𝟕𝟖𝟑𝟐𝟎.

Binomial Theorem: If 𝒏 is a positive

integer then for any real numbers 𝒙
and 𝒚, we have
(𝐱 + 𝐲)𝒏 = ∑𝒏𝒓=𝟎 𝒏𝑪𝒓 𝒙𝒏−𝒓 𝒚𝒓
= 𝒏𝑪𝟎 𝒙𝒏 + 𝒏𝑪𝟏 𝒙𝒏−𝟏 𝒚𝟏 +
𝒏𝑪𝟐 𝒙𝒏−𝟐 𝒚𝟐 +…..
…..+ 𝒏𝑪𝒏−𝟏 𝒙𝟏 𝒚𝒏−𝟏 + 𝒏𝑪𝒏 𝒚𝒏 .
Restricted Combination:
The number of combination of 𝒏
different things taken 𝒓 at a time such
that 𝒎 particular things are
(i) never included is 𝒏 − 𝒎𝑪𝒓
(ii) always included is 𝒏 − 𝒎𝑪𝒓−𝒎

Prob.(11) Find the number of selections

of 15 persons taken 9 at a time in which
3 particular persons are
(i) never included
(ii) always included
Answer: (i) 𝟏𝟐𝑪𝟗 = 𝟐𝟐𝟎
(ii) 𝟏𝟐𝑪𝟔 = 𝟗𝟐𝟒.

Assignment 1:
1. In how many ways can the letters
of the word “COMMERCE” be
arranged?
2. In how many ways the letters of
the word “DAUGHTER” can be
arranged keeping the vowels
together?
3. Show that the letters of the word
“CALCUTTA” is twice the
permutations of the letters of the
word “AMERICA”.
4. How many ways the letters of the
word “MISSISSIPPI” can be
arranged?
5. How many different three figure
numbers can be formed with the
digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; so that no digit
being repeated in any number?
6. Find the number of permutations
of the word “EXAMINATION”.
7. In how many ways a group of 3
astronauts can be selected from 5
Indian astronauts and 4 Russian
 astronauts so that each group
contains at least one Indian and one
Russian.
8. From 7 Englishmen and 4
Americans, a committee of 6 is to
be formed. In how many ways
can the committee be formed;
when
(i) The committee contains exactly
2 Americans?
(ii) The committee contains at
least 2 Americans?
9. A student has to answer 5
questions out of 8 in an
examination.
(i) How many choices has he?
 (ii) How many choices has he, if he
must answer the first three
questions?
10. The question paper on
mathematics contains 10
questions divided into two groups
5 questions each. In how many
ways can an examinee select 6
questions taking at least two
questions from each group?

Short -Answer Type:

11. In a meeting every person shook hands
with others.
As a result, 45 hand-shakes were made.
Find the number of persons.
Long -Answer Type:

12. A man having 8 sons visits the zoo-

garden every time with any 3 sons.
But he does not take the same group
 of 3 sons more than once. How many
times the man himself and each son
visits the zoo-garden?

13. In a group of 15 boys, there are 7 boy-

scouts. In how many ways can 12
boys be selected so as to include
(i) exactly 6 boy-scouts and
(ii) at least 6 boy-scouts.