You are on page 1of 21

Chapter one

Elementary counting principles


1.1 Addition Principle:

 Assume a task can be done either in one of n1ways or in one of n2 ways.


 Assume none of the set of n1 ways is the same asany of the set n2 ways.
 So, there are n1 + n2 ways to do the task.

Example 1:

Assume there are 37 members of the mathematics faculty and 83 mathematics students. Suppose
that either a member of the mathematics faculty or a student who is mathematics major is chosen
as a representative to a university committee.How many different ways to choose this
representative?

Solution:

 There are 37 ways to choose a faculty member.


 There are 83 ways to choose a student.
 By the sum rule, there are 37+83=120 different waysto choose such a representative.

1
Extended version of the sum rule:

Suppose a task can be done in one of n1 ways, in one of n2 ways, …, or in one of nmways.

 Assume none of the set of ni ways of doing the task is the same as any of the set of nj
ways, for all pairs I and j with 1 < i < j < m.
 The task can be done in n1+n2+…+nm different ways.

Example2:

A student can choose a computer project from one of three lists. The three lists contains 23, 15
and 19 possible projects. No project is on more than one list. How many possible projects are
there to choose from?

Solution:

 The student can choose a project from the first list, the second list or the third list.
 By the sum rule, there are 23+15+19=57 ways to choose a project.

Example 3: How many ways can we get a sum of 4 or of 8 when two distinguishable dice (say
one die is red and the other is white) are rolled ?

Solution.Let us label the outcome of a 1 on the red die and a 3 on the white die as the ordered
pair (1, 3).
Then we see that the out comes (1, 3), (2, 2), and (3, 1) are the only ones whose sum is 4.
Thus, there are 3 ways to obtain the sum.
Likewise, the obtain the sum 8 from the outcomes (2, 6), (3, 5), (4, 4), (5, 3), and (6, 2).
Thus, there are 3 + 5 = 8 outcomes whose sum is 4 or 8.

The Addition Principle of Equality

Adding (or subtracting) the same number to both sides of an equation does not change its
solution set.

Think of the balance analogy—if both sides of the equation are equal, then increasing both sides
by the same amount will change the value of each side, but they will still be equal.

For example, if 3 = 3, then 3 + 2 = 3 + 2.

Consequently, if 6 + x = 8for some value of x (which in this case is x = 2), then we can add any
number to both sides of the equation and x = 2 will still be the solution. If we wanted to, we
could add a 3 to both sides of the equation, producing the equation9 + x = 11.

As you can see, x = 2 is still the solution. Of course, this new equation is no simpler than
the one we started with, and this maneuver did not help us solve the equation.

2
If we want to solve the equation6 + x = 8,the idea is to get x by itself on one side, and so
we want to get rid of the 6 that is on the left side. We can do this by subtracting a 6 from
both sides of the equation (which of course can be thought of as adding a negative
six):6 – 6 + x = 8 – 6orx = 2

You can think of this operation as moving the 6 from one side of the equation to the
other, which causes it to change sign

The addition principle is useful in solving equations because it allows us to move whole
terms from one side of the equal sign to the other. While this is a convenient way to think
of it, you should remember that you are not really ―moving‖ the term from one side to the
other—you are really adding (or subtracting) the term on both sides of the equation.

Steps to solve linear equation

1. Determine whether a given equation is linear.

2. Solve linear equations in one variable using the addition principle.

3. Solve equations with variables on both sides of the equal sign.

4. Solve identities and contradictions.

5. Solve application problems.

Linear equation: An equation in which each variable term contains a single variable raised to an
exponent of 1.

Such as 2x + 5 = 7, 8x-12 = 20 etc.

To clear a term in an equation, add the additive inverse of that term to both sides of the
equation.

3
Example 3: solve the following equation:

Example 4:

4
Example 5:

1.2 Multiplication Principle


Suppose that a procedure can be broken down into a sequence of two tasks. If there are n1 ways
to do the first task and n2 ways to do the second task after the first task has been done, then there
are n1n2ways to do the procedure.
In other words, If S1, S2, ......,Sn are non-empty sets, then the number of elements in the Cartesian
product

5
Example 1. If there are 3 roads from town A to town B and 2 roads from town B to town C, in
how many ways can a person travel from town A to C via town B?

Solution. There are 3 roads from town A to town B. For each of these 3 roads from A
to B, there are 2 different routes leading from B to C. Thus, there are a total of 3 * 2 = 6
different ways to choose a route from A to C via B.

This is shown in the following diagram

Example 2: A certain combination lock can be set to open to any 3-letter sequence.

(a) How many sequences are possible?

(b) How many sequences are possible if no letter is repeated?

Solution:
a).Since there are 26 letters in the alphabet, there are 26 choices for each of the 3 letters. By the
multiplication principle, there are
26 * 26 * 26 = 17576 different sequences.
b).There are 26 choices for the first letter. It cannot be used again, so there are 25 choices for the
second letter and then 24 choices for the third letter. Thus, the number of sequences is
26 * 25 * 24 = 15600 :
Example 3: A teacher has 5 different books that he wishes to arrange side by side. How many
different arrangements are possible?

Solution: Five choices will be made, one for each space that will hold a book. Any of the 5
books could be chosen for the first space. There are 4 choices for the second space, since 1 book
has already been placed in the first space. Then there are 3 choices for the third space,2 for the
fourth one and finally only 1 choice for the last space. By the multiplication principle, the
number of different possible arrangements is
5 *4* 3 * 2 * 1 = 120 :

6
The use of the multiplication principle often leads to products such as 5 * 4 * 3 * 2 *1, the
product of all the natural numbers from 5 down to 1.

Definition: If n is a natural number, the symbol n! (read \n factorial") denotes the product of all
the natural numbers from n down to 1. If n = 1, this formula is understood
to give 1! = 1.

The following table gives the values of some factorials.

The definition of n! could be used to show that n*[(n-1)]! = n! for all natural numbers n ≥1. So
for example, 7! = 7 * 6!:
This fact can be extended to see that n! = n * (n - 1) * [(n - 2)]!; for all natural numbers n ≥ 2;
Or n! = n * (n - 1) * (n - 2) * [(n - 3)]!; for all natural numbers n ≥ 3; and so on.
For example, 10! = 10 *9 * 8 * 7! = 10 * 9 * 8 * 7 * 6 * 5!:

7
Example: a). If

b).

Solution: a).

b).

1.3 Permutation and combination


Permutation: Suppose 4 pictures are to be arranged from left to right on one wall of an art
gallery. How many arrangements are possible? Using the multiplication principle, there are 4
ways of selecting the first picture. After the first picture is selected, there are 3 ways of selecting
the second picture. After the first 2 pictures are selected, there are 2 ways of selecting the third
picture. And after the first 3 pictures are selected, there is only 1 way to select the fourth. Thus,
the number of arrangements possible for the 4 pictures is

8
In general, we refer to a particular arrangement, or ordering, of n objects without repetition as a
permutation of the n objects. How many permutations of n objects are there? From the reasoning
above, there are n ways in which the first object can be chosen, there are n - 1 ways in which the
second object can be chosen, and so on. Applying the multiplication principle, we have Theorem
1:

Theorem 1: Permutations of n Objects

The number of permutations of n objects, denoted by Pn,n, is given by


Pn,n= n *(n -1) *. . . * 1 = n!
Now suppose the director of the art gallery decides to use only 2 of the 4 available pictures on
the wall, arranged from left to right. How many arrangements of 2 pictures can be formed from
the 4? There are 4 ways the first picture can be selected.
After selecting the first picture, there are 3 ways the second picture can be selected. Thus, the
number of arrangements of 2 pictures from 4 pictures, denoted by P4,2, is given by

Theorem 2: Permutation of n Objects Taken r at a Time

The number of permutations of n objects taken r at a time is given by

Note that if r = n, then the number of permutations of n objects taken n at a


time is

The permutation symbol Pn,ralso can be denoted by or P(n, r). Many calculators use
nPrto denote the function that evaluates the permutation symbol.

A permutation of a set S of objects is a sequence containing each object once. An ordered


arrangement of r distinct elements of S is called an r -permutation.

Example1: From a committee of 8 people, in how many ways can we choose a chair and a vice
chair, assuming one person cannot hold more than one position?

Solution:We are actually asking for the number of permutations of 8 objects taken 2
at a time that is, P8,2:

9
Example2: Find the number of permutations of 25 objects taken 8 at a time. Compute the
answer to 4 significant digits using a calculator.

Solution:

Combination:

A combination of a set of n objects taken r at a time is an r-element subset of the n objects. The
number of combinations of n objects taken r at a time, 0 ≤r ≤ n, denoted by Cn,r, can be obtained
by solving for Cn,rin the relationship

If we start with n distinct objects, each selection, or combination, of r of these objects, with no
reference to order, corresponds to r! Permutations of size r from the n objects.Thus the number of
combinations of size r from a collection of size n is

A word to the wise! When dealing with any counting problem, we should ask ourselves about the
importance of order in the problem, when order is relevant, we think in terms of permutations
and arrangements and the rule of product. When order is not relevant, combinations could play a
key role in solving the problem.

10
Example1: A hostess is having a dinner party for some members of her charity committee.
Becauseof the size of her home, she can invite only 11 of the 20 committee members.

Solution: Order is not important, so she can invite ―the lucky 11‖ in C (20, 11)

ways

Example 2:

a) A student taking a history examination is directed to answer any seven of 10 essay questions.
There is no concern about order here, so the student can answer the examination in

b) If the student must answer three questions from the first five and four questions from the last

five, three questions can be selected from the first five in ways, and the other four

questions can be selected in Hence, by the rule of product, the student can

complete the examination in 50 ways.

c) Finally, should the directions on this examination indicate that the student must answer seven
of the 10 questions where at least three are selected from the first five, then there are three cases
to consider:

i) The student answers three of the first five questions and four of five: by the rule of product this
can happen in

ii) Four of the first five questions and three of the last five questions are selected by the student:
this can come about in

iii) The student decides to answer all five of the first five questions and two of the last five: The
rule of product tells us that last

= 1 X 10 = 10 ways.

11
Combining the results for cases (i), (ii), and (iii), by the rule of sum we find that
the student can make
= 50 + 50 + 10 = 110 selections of seven (out of 10) questions where each
selection includes at least three of the first five questions.
Example 3:
a) At Minlik High School, the gym teacher must select nine girls from the junior and senior
classes for a volleyball team. If there are 28 juniors and 25 seniors.

Solution:she can make the selection in C(53, 9)= 4,431,613,550 ways.

b) If two juniors and one senior are the best spikers and must be on the team, then the rest of the
team can be chosen in
Solution:Since 3 of them did not incorporate in the choice C(50,6) = 15,890,700 possible ways

c) For a certain tournament that team must comprise four juniors and five seniors.

Solution:
The teacher can select the four juniors in C(28,4) ways. For each of these selections she has ways
to choose the five seniors C(25,5).
Consequently, by the rule of product, she can select her team in C(28,4) *C(25,5) =
1,087,836,750 ways for this particular tournament.

1.4 The Binomial Theorem

And

12
Notes:

Example1:

Example 2:

13
Example 3:

Example 4:

Exercise :

14
Example1:

15
Example 2:

16
Exercise :

1.

2.

3.

And

Example: Evaluate

a.

b.

Solution:

17
1.5 The Inclusion and Exclusion Principle
In combinatorics, the inclusion–exclusion principle (also known as the sieve principle) is an
equation relating the sizes of two sets and their union. It states that if A and B are two (finite)
sets, then

The meaning of the statement is that the number of elements in the union of the two sets is the
sum of the elementsin each set, respectively, minus the number of elements that are in both.

Example:1In our classroom example we will assume that set A contains 10 girls and set B
contains 12 boys.

Solution: So | A u B | = | A | + | B | = 10 + 12 = 22

There are 22 items in the set | A u B |.

Example 2: Consider the following sets.

= 8 + 6 – 2 = 12

18
Similarly, for three sets A, B and C,
| A u B u C | = | A | + | B | + | C | - | A n B | - | A n C | -| B n C | + | A n B n C |

Example 3: Consider the following sets.

| A u B u C | = | A | + | B | + | C | - | A n B | - | A n C | -| B n C | + | A n B n C

8 + 6 + 5 – 2 – 2 – 3 + 1 = 13

The Principle of Inclusion and Exclusion is extended to a greater number of sets, it remains a
process of including everything in all sets, then excluding the overlap of items common to sets.
We can generally state the Principle of Inclusion and Exclusion as:

A five set example would include all the individual items in all five sets, exclude the intersection
of each pair of sets, include the intersection of each triplet of sets, exclude the intersection of
each quadruple of sets, and finally include the intersection of the quintuple of sets.

Example 4: Given the set of positive integers from 1 to 1000, how many integers are evenly
divisible by a single digit prime number?

Solution: To evaluate the size of sets A, B, C, and D we need to count the factors when 1000 is
divided by the prime numbers in question. If we divide 1000 by our number and truncate any
remainder, we have the quantity we are looking for. There is an appropriate notation for this, the
greatest integer, or floor, function which returns the greatest integer less than the value
inside the half brackets.

19
If we wanted to know how many times 3 will divide into 10, then is how we can
calculate and show the result.
The Principle of Inclusion and Exclusion gives us the strategy to solve our problem. We will
start by including all numbers divisible by 2, 3, 5, or 7. But in doing so we will over-count.

For example, the number 30 will appear in the set of numbers divisible by 2, the set of
numbersdivisible by 3, and the set of numbers divisible by 5. We will compensate by subtracting
the
elements appearing in all two set intersections, then we will add back in the elements that are
member of three set intersections, and finally subtract any four set intersections. We can express
this as:

We will use the process noted above to determine the size of the sets. For the size of the set
intersections, we will consider that an integer is divisible by both a and b when and only when it
is divisible by the LCM (least common multiple) of a and b.

20
Placing our values into our formula we have:

So 772 integers from set N are divisible by a single digit prime number.

21

You might also like