Fundamental

counting principle
Suppose you have 5 ties
and 4 shirts. How many ways can you
choose a shirt and a tie?
How many ways can you choose a
menu with a starter, a meat
(seafood or steaks), a drink, a
salad and a dessert?
The fundamental counting principle states that if
there are p ways to do one thing, and q ways to do
another thing, then there are p × q ways to do both
things.
Suppose you have 3 shirts (call them A , B , and C ), and 4 pairs
of pants (call them w , x , y , and z ).

Tree diagram
You are trying to decide on flower arrangement for a
wedding. There are 13 types of flowers, 15 types of
vases and 20 types of ribbons to chose from.
How many possible arrangements are there?
A restaurant offers four sizes of pizza, two types
of crust, and eight toppings. How many possible
combinations of pizza with one topping are there?
You go to K-tronix to purchase a new television. You
have the following choices: LCD or plasma; screen
size 27”, 32”, 36”, 41”, 51”, or 63” and manufacturer
Sony, Vizio or Phillips. How many different
televisions does the store have to offer?