Question 1.

Imagine you received a scholarship that would cover only 3 courses out of the 11 courses

related to your field of study at your university. How many ways will you have to choose

the three courses?

We will employ the combinations formula to select a group of r = 3 courses from a total of

n =11 courses. The reason for using combinations is that the sequence in which the courses are

chosen is inconsequential, and once selected, the courses are not substituted.

We will the formula:

C (n . r )= ( nr )= r ! ( n−r
n!
)!
when n≥ r

C (n . r )= ( 113 )= 3 ! ( 11−3
11!
)!

( 113 )= 311!
!.8!

( 113 )= 11! .103! (!8.9) !! .8 !

( 113 )= 11× 10× 9

3 ×2 ×1
( 113 )= 11× 5× 3
1 ×1 ×1

( 113 )=11×5 ×=16 5

How many ways can you choose for the remaining two courses if one course- English (out

of the 11 courses) is mandatory to take?

If it's compulsory to include English alongside the scholarship, we need to select r=2 courses

from the remaining n=10 courses. Following the rationale applied in the earlier question, we will

utilize the combinations formula for this selection process.

C (n . r )= ( 102 )= 2 ! ( 10−2
10 !
)!

( 102 )= 210!
! ( 8) !

( 102 )= 102!! .9. 8! .8! !

( 102 )= 102 ×1× 9

( 102 )= 51 ××19

( 102 )=45

Answer: C(10,2) = 45 ways.

Explain how you arrived at the answer.

There are 165 ways to choose 3 courses out of 11 for the scholarship. After choosing this 1

mandatory course (English) there are 45 ways to select the remaining 10 courses.

Question 2.

Consider two sets A and B having cardinality of your choice. Explain how many injective

and bijective functions are possible from set A to set B. Please avoid the examples given in

textbooks or online resources and come up with your own unique example.

Let’s consider two sets A = {5,7,9} and B = {25,49,81}

Injective Function:

An injective function or one-to-one function ensures that each element from set A maps to a
distinct element in set B (Doerr & Levasseur, n.d. Chapter 7.2).

Given the cardinalities of sets A and B, where |A| = 3 and |B| = 3:

For an injective function from set A to set B, all elements in set A must be mapped to distinct

elements in set B.

Since both sets A and B have the same number of elements:

It is possible to create an injective function where each element in set A is mapped to a distinct

element in set B. Example:

f(5) = 25, f(7) = 49, f(9) = 81

There are exactly 3 factorial (3!) = 6 injective functions possible from set A to set B in this

scenario.

Bijective Function:

A function is termed a bijective or a bijection when a function f: A → B fulfills both injective

(one-to-one function) and surjective (onto function) properties. This implies that for every

element "b" in the codomain B, there exists precisely one element "a" in the domain A such that

f(a) = b. When the function adheres to this condition, it establishes a one-to-one correspondence

(Bijective Function (One-To-One Correspondence) - Definition, n.d.).

For a function to be bijective from set A to set B:

The number of elements in set A must be equal to the number of elements in set B. Each element

in set A must be mapped to a distinct element in set B. There must be no unmapped elements in

set B.

Given |A| = 3 and |B| = 3:

Since both sets A and B have the same number of elements and considering that injectivity is

satisfied: It is possible to have a bijective function from set A to set B in this scenario. There is

only one possible bijective function since all elements from A are uniquely mapped to all

elements in B:

f(5) = 25, f(7) = 49, f(9) = 81

Therefore, in this case, there are 6 injective functions and only 1 bijective function possible from

set A = {5, 7, 9} to set B = {25, 49, 81}.

Question 3.

Find the coefficient of ( x 3 ) ( x+ 2 )10+ ( x +5 )7

To find the coefficient of x 7 in the expansion of ( x 3 ) ( x+ 2 )10+ ( x +5 )7, let's expand each term

separately using the Binomial Theorem and then find the term that contributes to x 7when the

expressions are added together.

( x 3 ) ( x+ 2 )10

( x +2 )10= ( 10k ) x 10−k

×2k

For ( x 3 ) ( x+ 2 )10 , the term that contributes to x 7will occur when k = 7 in the expansion.

Therefore, the term is:

( 107 ) x 10−7
×27

¿ ( 107 ) x ×2 =120 × x ×128=15360 x

3 7 3 3

Now let’s expand the second term:

Using the binomial theorem, the term corresponding to x 7 in the expansion of ( x +5 )7will occur

when k = 4,

( x +5 )7:

( 74 ) x7 −4 4
×5

¿ ( 74 ) x × 625
3

3 3
¿ 35 × x × 625=21875 x

The total coefficient of x^3 in the expression ( x 3 ) ( x+ 2 )10+ ( x +5 )7 =13360+21875=37235.

The coefficient of x 7=37235 .

(Levin, n.d.)

Question 4.

The newly constructed apartment has 30 club members. The club has planned to create a

sports committee consisting of 7 club members. How many different sports committees are

possible?
Since the ordering does not matter, we use combinations formula to find the number of different

sports committees possible.

C (n . r )= ( nr )= r ! ( n−r
n!
)!
when n≥ r

( 307 )= 7 ! ( 30−7
30!
)!

( 307 )= 730! 23! !

( 307 )= 30 ! .29 ! .28 ! .277 !!( 23.26) !! .25! .24 ! .23 !

( 307 )= 30 ×297 ××6 28× 27 ×26 × 25× 24

×5 × 4 ×3 ×2 ×1

( 307 )= 6 ×729× 7 ×9 × 26 ×25 ×12

×6 × 1× 1× 1×1 ×1

( 307 )=2035800 .

Answer: C(30,7) = 2035800.

(Combination, 2017).

How many committees are possible if it is mandatory to have the selected treasurer of the

club members in the sports committee? Explain in detail.

If the selected treasurer must be a part of the sports committee, we'll first choose the treasurer

and then fill the remaining 6 spots from the remaining 29 members.

The number of ways to choose the treasurer out of 30 members is 30 (since there's only one

treasurer).

After choosing the treasurer, the number of ways to select the remaining 6 members from the

The remaining 29 (excluding the treasurer) can be calculated using combinations:

C (n . r )= ( nr )= r ! ( n−r
n!
)!
when n≥ r

( 296 )= 6 ! ( 29−6
29!
)!

( 296 )= 6 !29( 23! ) !

( 296 )= 29 ! .28 ! .27 !6.26! .23! .25! ! .24 ! .23 !

( 296 )= 296×14 ×9 ×26 × 5× 6
× 1×1 ×1 ×1 ×1

( 296 )=475020

Answer: C(29,6) = 475020.

(Combination, 2017).

Question 5.

Explain bit string in your own words.

A bit string is a series or arrangement of binary digits that are normally made up of 0s and 1s.

The term "bit" refers to the binary digit, the most basic unit of information in computing and

digital communications.

For example, a bit string could be "1100100," where each digit (0 or 1) represents a single bit

and the complete series comprises a bit string. Depending on the context or encoding used, this

bit string could be read as data, such as a binary number (in this case, representing the number

100 in decimal) or as part of a larger data structure, such as a text character in ASCII encoding.

(Introduction to Bit Strings, n.d.)

Give an example of a bit string with any length and weight and explain how combinations

help find the number of bit strings possible for the example.

Let’s consider a bit string of length n = 7 and weight r = 5.

In this case, we have a bit string of length 7 and we want exactly 5 bits to be set to 1. We need to

choose 5 positions out of the 7 available positions to place the 1s. This is because once we decide

on the positions for the 1s, the remaining positions will automatically be filled with 0s.

The number of bit strings with length n and weight k is C(n,r) = C(7,5) = 21.

There are 21 different combinations of positions where the 1s can be placed within a bit string

of length 7 with a weight of 5. Each of these combinations corresponds to a unique bit string

with the specified properties.

This method of using combinations allows us to systematically count the number of possible

arrangements of 1s within a bit string of a given length and weight, helping to determine the total

number of bit strings that satisfy the specified conditions.

(Combination, 2017).
Choose a 3-digit number example and explain the number of derangements that can be

formed from it.

Derangements of the 3-digit number 786.

Original permutations of the number 786 are as follows:

1. 786 (original number)

2. 768

3. 687

4. 678

5. 867

6. 876

For a permutation to be a derangement, none of the digits can appear in their original

position.

For the number 786:

 687: Digits 7 and 8 are in different positions from the original number.

 867: Digits 7 and 6 are in different positions from the original number.
So, for the 3-digit number 786, there are two derangements: 687, 867.

(Permutation Definition, Types, Counting Principle & Examples, n.d.).

To create a 4-digit password for your Android phone, How many ways are there to crack

the password if no digit repeats?

When creating a 4-digit password without any repeating digits, you have 10 options for the first

digit (0 to 9), then 9 options for the second digit (since you can't repeat the first digit), 8 options

for the third digit (can't repeat first and second), and finally 7 options for the fourth digit (can't

repeat the first three digits).

If no digit repeats, and the order does not matter, we are going to use the Permutations formula

to choose r = 4 digits out of n =10 digits which is C(10,4) = 5040.

(Permutation Definition, Types, Counting Principle & Examples, n.d.).

b. If the digits can be repeated, how many ways are there to crack the password?

If the digits can be repeated in the password, for each of the four positions, there are 10 options

(0 to 9) available.

Therefore, the number of ways to create a 4-digit password allowing repetition of digits is

calculated as: we are going to use the combinations formula to choose r = 4 digits out

of n=10 digits which is C(10,4) = 10000.

(Combination, 2017).

References:

Bijective Function (One-to-One Correspondence) - Definition. (n.d.). BYJUS.

https://byjus.com/maths/bijective-function/

Combination. (2017, August 22). BYJUS; Byju’s. https://byjus.com/maths/combination/

Doerr, A., & Levasseur, K. (n.d.). ADS Properties of Functions. In discretemath.org. Retrieved

December 6, 2023, from https://discretemath.org/ads/s-properties-of-functions.html

Permutation Definition, Types, Counting Principle & Examples. (n.d.). BYJUS.

https://byjus.com/maths/permutation/