Discrete Mathematics

Assignment
Submitted By: Kumar Satyam Roll No: 52010014
MCA – 1 st SEM
COMBINATION OF REPITATION ELEMENT
1. DEFINATION:
Assume that we have a set A with n elements.
Any selection of r objects from A, where each object
can be selected more than once, is called a
combination of n objects taken r at a time with
repetition. For instance, the combinations of the letters
a, b, c, d taken 3 at a time with repetition are: aaa, aab,
aac, aad, abb, abc, abd, acc, acd, add, bbb, bbc, bbd,
bcc, bcd, bdd, ccc, ccd, cdd, ddd. Two combinations
with repetition are considered identical if they have
the same elements repeated the same number of
times, regardless of their order.
Note that the following are equivalent:
1. The number of combinations of n objects taken r at a
time with repetition.
2. The number of ways r identical objects can be
distributed among n distinct containers.
3. The number of nonnegative integer solutions of the
equation:
 x1 + x2 + · · · + xn = r .
2. FORMULA
The general solution is:

r+n-1
Cr =

where n is the number of things to choose from, and we choose r of

them repetition allowed, order doesn't matter.

3. EXAMPLE:
You walk into a candy store and have enough money for 6
pieces of candy. The store has chocolate (C), gummies (G),
and horrible Chinese candy (H). How many different
selections can you make?
 Here are some possible selections you might make:
CCCGGH
CGGGGH
CCCCGG
HHHHHH
 Since order doesn't matter, we'll list all of our selections
in the same order: C then G then H.
 We don't want our candy to mix: let's separate the types.
CCC|GG|H
C|GGGG|H
CCCC|GG|
||HHHHHH
 Now we don't need the actual identities in the diagram to
know what's there:
---|--|-
-|----|-
----|--|
||------
 Now the answer becomes obvious: we have 8 slots there
and just have to decide where to put the two dividers.
 There are C(8,2) ways to do that, so C(8,2)=28 possible
selections.
 … or equivalently, there are C(8,6)=28 ways to place the
candy selections.
 If we are selecting an r-combination from n elements
with repetition, there are C(n+r−1,r)=C(n+r−1,n−1) ways
to do so.
Proof: like with the candy, but not specific to r=6 and n=3.