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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : How To Find The Greatest Or Least Number Of Combinations
You work as a health inspector and must visit each of the 15 restaurants in town once each week. In how many different orders can you make these inspections?
100875
11 × 1012
225
156900
1.3 x 1012
1.3 x 1012
15P15 = 15!
= 1.307 674 368 × 1012
Example Question #1 : How To Find The Greatest Or Least Number Of Combinations
A license plate consists of three letters followed by three numbers (excluding 0). How many license plates can be made if no letters or numbers are repeated?
26 x 26 x 26 x 9 x 9 x 9
26 + 25 + 24 + 9 + 8 + 7
26 + 26 + 26 + 9 + 9 + 9
26 x 25 x 24 x 9 x 8 x 7
None of the answers are correct
26 x 25 x 24 x 9 x 8 x 7
There are 26 letters in the alphabet and 9 digits when you exclude 0. Each selection can go with any other selection, so each number is multiplied together. After the first letter is picked, the sample size (what you can pick from) is reduced by one because there is no repetition. So the answer 26 x 25 x 24 x 9 x 8 x 7 is correct. If repetition were allowed answer 26 x 26 x 26 x 9 x 9 x 9 would be correct.
Example Question #2 : Permutation / Combination
How many ways can 10 people win a race if ribbons are given for first, second, and third places?
None of the answers are correct
120
360
720
540
720
Independent events are multiplied. Once the first place is chosen, the sample space (what you can pick from) is reduced by one since there is no repetition (you can’t win first and second places at the same time). Thus, 10 x 9 x 8 = 720
Example Question #1711 : Act Math
Sam is getting dressed in the morning and has 6 pairs of pants, 4 shirts, and 5 pairs of socks to choose from. How many distinct combinations consisting of 1 pair of pants, 1 shirt and 1 pair of socks can Sam make?
In order to find the answer, multiply the quantities together:
This is because for each pair of pants, there are 4 options for shirts and 5 options for socks.
Example Question #4 : Permutation / Combination
Susie wants to make a sandwich for lunch. She has two types of breads, three types of meats, and two types of cheeses to choose from. How many different sandwiches can she make if she chooses only one of each ingredient?
5
7
1
12
12
Each item (bread, meat, and cheese) is chosen independently from the others, so the answer can be found in a tree diagram: Bread x Meat x Cheese or 2 x 3 x 2 or 12.
Example Question #4 : Permutation / Combination
How many different 5 letter computer passwords are possible, assuming that letters cannot be repeated?
5,100,480
12,569,212
11,881,376
7,893,600
7,893,600
26P5 = 26 x 25 x 24 x 23 x 22 = 7,893,600
Example Question #2 : Permutation / Combination
At a party with 9 guests, every guest shakes every other guest’s hand exactly once. How many handshakes are exchanged during the party?
When two people shake hands with each other, that counts as one handshake.
24
36
72
60
48
36
Each person shakes 8 people’s hands, so at first guess that’s 9x8=72 handshakes. However, this double counts the number of handshakes since we count the handshake between person A and B once when we count A’s 8 handshakes and a second time when we count B’s 8 handshakes. Therefore, we divide our estimate by 2 and get 36.
Example Question #11 : How To Find The Greatest Or Least Number Of Combinations
A university can send 3 track athletes and 2 field athletes to an upcoming sports event. The university has 14 track athletes and 10 field athletes who qualify. How many different teams can be chosen to attend the sports event?
140
840
16,380
64,800
10,080
16,380
The number of different teams that could be chosen is C(14, 3) × C(10, 2) = 16,380.
Example Question #11 : How To Find The Greatest Or Least Number Of Combinations
The menu above is from Lena’s Italian Kitchen. If you are going there for dinner, how many different combinations of a meal and a salad are there?
15
5
10
20
25
20
Combinations = # first option * # second option
= # meals * # salads
= 5 * 4 = 20
Example Question #651 : Arithmetic
A student is taking a test consisting of six questions. It is a multiple choice test and each question has four answers labelled A, B, C, and D. How many ways can the student answer all six questions if he does not choose the same answer for any two consecutive questions?
30
972
324
625
100
972
the student has four choices for the first question, but only three choices for each of the remaining questions since he does not choose answers with the same letter twice in a row. From the multiplicative counting principle, there are 4 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 x 3 = 972 ways Steve can answer the six questions.
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