Lecturer: Nguyen Duong Nguyen Mathematics Department, Faculty of Basic Science, FTU

0.1 Permutation
Definition. Let X be a set with n elements (n  1) . Permutation of an n-element set X
is an (ordered) arrangement of all n elements from X (without repetition).
Example. The permutations of the set X = {a, b, c} are (a, b, c), (a, c, b), (b, a, c),
(b, c, a), (c, a, b), (c, b, a).
Number of permutations. The number of permutations of an n-element set, written
Pn , is

Pn = n!
(!: factorial)
Example. The set X = {a, b, c} has 3! = 6 permutations.
0.2 Arrangement without repetition (k-permutation)
Definition. Let X be a set with n elements and an integer k with 1  k  n . A k-
permutation from a set X is an ordered arrangement of k elements from an n-element
set X (without repetition)
The number of k-permutations of an n-element set, written Ank , is

A kn  n(n  1)(n  2) ... (n  k  1)

Example. From the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, how many different 5-digit natural

numbers can be formed?
Solution. Each arrangement of different 5 digits out of 9 digits gives us a different 5-
digit natural number. So each different 5-digit natural number can be considered as a
5-permutation of the set including 9 given numbers. Therefore, the number of different
5-digit natural numbers formed from the given 9 digits is
A59  9(8)(7)(6)(5)  15120

0.3 Arrangement with repetition (k-permutations with repetition)

Definition. A k-permutation with the repetition of an n-element set X is an
arrangement of k elements from X, while elements can repeat in an arbitrary number
of identical copies.
Example. Let X be the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}. 5-permutation with repetition of X
is: 43255, 22222, 44118, 39476, …

1
Lecturer: Nguyen Duong Nguyen Mathematics Department, Faculty of Basic Science, FTU

The number of all k-permutations with repetition of an n-element set X, written

k
A n , is
k
An  n k
Example. From the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, how many 5-digit natural numbers
can be formed?
Solution. It is assumed that the digits of a 5-digit natural number made up of the 9
given digits can be repeated. Therefore, each 5-digit natural number formed from the 9
given digits can be considered as a 5-permutation with repetition of the 9-element set.
So, the number of 5-digit natural numbers formed from the 9 given numbers is
5
A9  95  59049
0.4 Combination
Definition. Let X be a set with n elements and an integer k with 1  k  n . A k-
combination of the set X is an (unordered) selection of k distinct elements from the
given set X.
Example. Let X be the set {a, b, c, d}. 3-combinations of the set A are {a, b, c},
{a, b, d}, {a, c, d}, {b, c, d}.
The number of k-combinations from an n-element set, written Cnk , is
n!
Ckn 
k!(n  k)!
Example. A group of 10 people consists of 6 men and 4 women. A delegation of 5
people should be established. Question:
a) How many ways are there to form a delegation in total?
b) How many ways are there to form a delegation, in which there are three men and
two women?
Solution.
a) The total number of ways to establish a delegation is
5
C10  252

b) The number of ways to establish a delegation, in which there are three men and two
women is
C36  C42  120