NOT

10
Mathematics
Quarter 3 - Module 1
Solving Problems Involving
Permutations

Department of Education ● Republic of the Philippines

Mathematics- Grade 10
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 3- Module 1: Solving Problems Involving Permutations
First Edition, 2020

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Published by the Department of Education

Secretary: Leonor Magtolis Briones

Undersecretary: Diosdado M. San Antonio

Development Team of the Module

Author/s: Jezza C. Biaῆo, T1
Reviewers: Rhodel A. Lamban, PhD
Elbert R. Francisco, PhD
Renie Nicolas B. Ontanillas
Vina Marie B. Latras
Illustrator and Layout Artist: Sheen Kenlord F. Aquino
Management Team

Chairperson: Arturo B. Bayocot, PhD CESO III

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Co-Chairpersons: Victor G. De Gracia Jr., PhD CESO V

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Randolph B. Tortola, PhD, CESO IV
Schools Division Superintendent
Shambaeh A. Usman, PhD
Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
Mala Epra B. Magnaong, Chief ES, CLMD
Neil A. Improgo, PhD EPS-LRMS
Bienvenido U. Tagolimot, Jr., PhD EPS-
 ADM Members: Elbert R. Francisco, PhD, Chief Dach, CID
Rhodel A. Lamban, PhD, EPS Mathematics
Rejynne Mary L. Ruiz, PhD, LRMDS Manager
Jeny B. Timbal, PDO II
Shella O. Bolasco, Division Librarian II

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Office Address: Fortich Street, Sumpong, Malaybalay City
Telephone: (088) 813-3634
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 10
Mathematics
Quarter 3 - Module 1
Solving Problems Involving
Permutations

This instructional material was collaboratively developed and

reviewed by educators from public schools. We encourage teachers
and other education stakeholders to email their feedback, comments,
and recommendations to the Department of Education at
[email protected].

We value your feedback and recommendations.

Department of Education-Division of Bukidnon ● Republic of the

Philippines
 Table of Contents

What This Module is About

Note to the Teacher/Facilitator
Note to the Learner
Note to the Parents/Guardian
What I Need to Know
How to Learn from this Module
Icons of this Module

What I Know (Pre-test)

Lesson 1: Page
Solving Problems in Permutations using the
Fundamental Counting Principle – Day 1 1

What I Need To Know 1

What I Know 1

What’s In 3

What’s New 4

What Is It 6

What’s More 8
Guided/Controlled Assessment
Independent Practice

What I Have Learned 11

What I Can Do 11

Assessment 12
Guided Assessment
Independent Assessment

Additional Activities 15

Lesson 2:
Solving Problems in Permutations using the
Permutations Formula – Day 2 16

What I Need To Know 16

What I Know 16

What’s In 17

What’s New 18
 Page

What Is It 20

What’s More 21
Guided/Controlled Assessment
Independent Practice

What I Have Learned 24

What I Can Do 25

Assessment 25
Guided Assessment
Independent Assessment

Additional Activities 27

Lesson 3:
Distinguishable and Circular Permutations – Day 3 29

What I Need to Know 29

What I Know 29

What’s In 31

What’s New 32

What Is It 35

What’s More 38
Guided/Controlled Practice
Independent Practice

What I Have Learned 41

What I Can Do 41

Assessment 42
Guided Assessment
Independent Assessment

Additional Activities 44

Summary 45

Assessment (Post-Test) 45

Answer Keys 48

References 51
What This Module is About

This module is about solving problems involving permutations.

This will require the knowledge and skill of the basic counting technique
called the Fundamental Counting Principle. As you go over the
discussion and exercises, you will understand and know how to solve
different problems using the permutations formula and distinct or
distinguishable permutations and circular permutations. With the
dissimilar activities or exercise being furnished of this module, may you
find this material challenging and engaging as it develops your critical-
thinking and problem-solving skills. Enjoy reading with learning and
solving every exercise and do not doubt to go back if you miss some
items.

We hope that through this module, you will experience meaningful

learning and acquire deep understanding of this significant competency.

For the Teacher/Facilitator:

Welcome to the Mathematics 10 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM)
Module on Solving Problems Involving Permutations!
This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by
educators both from public and private institutions to assist you, the
teacher or facilitator in helping the learners meet the standards set by
the K to 12 Curriculum while overcoming their personal, social, and
economic constraints in schooling.

As a teacher or a facilitator, you are expected to help and orient the

learners on how to use this module. You also need to keep track of the
learners' progress while allowing them to manage their own learning.
Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the learners as
they do the tasks included in the module. In addition, teachers should
put hard work in taking good care of our learners because they are the
hopes of our nation.

For the Learner:

Welcome to the Mathematics 10 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM)
Module on Solving Problems Involving Permutations!
This module is for you to provide fun and meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent learning at your own speed and time. You will
be enabled to process the contents of the learning resource while being
an active learner.

As a learner, you are expected to master this competency by

making an effort to read, write and understand as long as solve problems
in real-life situations with all your sincerity and honesty cooperation. Use
your mind and hand in working this module because through your mind
 and hands you may learn, formulate, perform and achieve. The mind and
hand is important, but the most important of them is our heart that has
willingness and love to work with this material. Thus, your academic
success lies in you!

For the Parents/Guardians:

Hello my dear parents/guardians, Welcome to the Mathematics 10
Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on Solving Problems Involving
Permutations!

This module was designed for your sons and daughters for them to
learn and finish schooling even though they are at home.
As a parent/guardian, I am asking your guidance and help to work out
the lessons and exercises together. I know you are busy working for
financial support but give some time to know your child if they read this
module and answer the different exercises or activities. If your child
approach you to help some of the problems that they don’t understand,
try to reach them out and have your full support to finish this material.
Let us help and work together for the future of success of our dear
students because I believe that by working together, we can make your
child’s experience positive and successful. And don’t forget, gently
encourage your child to do their best.

What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here
to help you master in solving problems involving permutations. The
range of this module permits it to be used in many different problems
solving. The language used recognizes the different vocabulary level of
students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of
the course.

The module has three lessons, namely:

• Lesson 1 – Solving Problems in Permutations using the Fundamental
Counting Principle
• Lesson 2 – Solving Problems using the Permutations Formula
• Lesson 3 – Solving Problems in Distinguishable and Circular
Permutations
 After going through this module, the learner shall be able to:

1. Define the Fundamental Counting Principle;

2. Solve problems in permutations using the fundamental counting
principle;
3. Solve problems using permutations formula;
4. Define the distinct or distinguishable and circular permutations; and
5. Solve problems using distinct or distinguishable and circular
permutations formula.

How to Learn from this Module

To achieve the objectives cited above, you are to do the following:

• Use the module with care.

• Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the module.
Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the activities.

• Take your time reading the lessons carefully and understand every
lessons.
• Follow the directions and/or instructions in the activities and exercises
diligently.
• Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your
answers.

• Answer all the given tests and exercises. Do not leave the problems
unanswered.
• Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with
it.

If you have any difficulty in answering the exercises in this module,

do not hesitate to approach your teacher or facilitator. Always put in mind
that you are not alone. I know you can do it!
Icons of this Module
What I
Need to This part contains learning objectives that
Know are set for you to learn as you go along the
Module each day/lesson.

What I
know This is a pre-test assessment as to your level of
knowledge to the subject matter at hand,
meant specifically to gauge prior related
Knowledge
What’s
In This part connects previous lesson with that
of the current one.

What’s
New An introduction of the new lesson through
various activities, before it will be presented
to you.

What is
It These are discussions of the activities as a
way to deepen your discovery and under-
standing of the concept.

What’s
More These are follow-up activities that are in-
tended for you to practice further in order to
master the competencies.

What I
Have Activities designed to process what you
Learned have learned from the lesson

What I
can do These are tasks that are designed to show-
case your skills and knowledge gained, and
applied into real-life concerns and situations.
 What I Know

PRE-ASSESSMENT

Find out how much you already know about this module. Choose
the letter that you think is correct and write your answer on the space
provided before each number on the separate sheet. Take note of the
items that you were not able to answer correctly and look for the right
answer as you go through this module.

___1. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters of

the word PASS.
A. 4 B. 12 C. 36 D. 144
___2. In how many ways can 8 people be seated around a circular
table if two of them insist on sitting beside each other?
A. 360 B. 720 C. 1440 D. 5040
___3. How many different 4-digit even numbers can be formed from the
digits 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 9 if no repetition of digits is allowed?
A. 1 680 B. 840 C. 420 D. 120
___4. Ms. Dela Cruz wants to produce different sets of test questions
for her essay test. If she plans to do this by putting together 3 out
of 5 questions she prepared, how many different sets of
questions could she construct?
A. 10 B. 20 C. 60 D. 80
___5. In a town fiesta dancing competition with 12 contestants, in how
many ways can the organizer arrange the first three dancers?
A. 132 B. 990 C. 1320 D. 1716
___6. Which of the following expressions represents the number of
distinguishable permutations of the letters of the word
HAPPINESS?
𝟗! 𝟗! 𝟗!
A. 9! B. C. D.
𝟐! 𝟓!𝟐! 𝟐!𝟐!
___7. How many different 3-digit numbers can be formed from the
digits 1,2,3,5,6,7 if repetition of digits is not allowed?
A. 120 B. 360 C. 720 D. 840
___8. Determine the different ways can 6 potted plants be arranged in a
row?
A. 210 B. 540 C. 550 D. 720
___9. In how many different ways can 5 different-colored horses be
positioned in a carousel?
A. 24 B. 120 C. 720 D. 800

___10. In a room, there are 10 chairs in a row. In how many ways can 5
students be seated in consecutive chairs?
A. 120 B. 720 C. 25 600 D. 30 240
___11. In how many ways can 4 people be seated around a circular
table?
A. 2 B. 6 C. 12 D. 24
___12. Lydia, together with her five friends want to arrange themselves
around a round table. How many ways can they do it?
A. 720 B. 120 C. 60 D. 30
___13. In the recently conducted SEA Games, there are 11 contenders
in a swimming event. How many ways can the gold, the silver,
and the bronze medals be won?
A. 856 B. 878 C. 950 D. 990
___14. Six athletes will participate in a gymnastics competition. In how
many ways can they win first, second, and third places, if there
are no ties?
A. 110 B. 120 C. 210 D. 150
___15. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters of
the word EDUCATED.
A. 1680 B. 10 080 C. 20 160 D. 40 320
 Solving Problems in
Permutations using
the Fundamental
Lesson Counting Principle
1

What I Need to Know

This lesson is written for you to solve problems on permutations
using the basic counting technique called the Fundamental Counting
Principle. We can either use reasoning to solve these types of
permutation problems. Basically, in fundamental counting principle is you
multiply the events together to get the total number of outcomes.

You may SKIP this lesson or its activities if you already master the skill
and get a score of 11 out of 15 items in the pre-test.

What I Know
Find out how much you already know about this lesson. Choose
the letter that you think is correct and write your answer on the space
provided before each number on the separate sheet. Take note of the
items that you were not able to answer correctly and look for the right
answer as you go through this module.

___1. If Gerald has 10 T-shirts, 7 pairs of pants, and 4 pairs of shoes,

how many possibilities can he dress himself up for the day?
A. 280 B. 290 C. 380 D. 390

___2. Twelve students compete in a race. In how many ways first three prizes
be given?
A. 1 000 B. 1 220 C. 1 320 D. 1 420

___3. You have 10 pairs of pants, 6 shirts, and 3 jackets. How many
outfits can you have consisting of a shirt, a pair of pants, and a
jacket?
A. 60 B. 120 C. 180 D. 240

1
 ___4. How many four-digit numbers can be formed from the numbers
1, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9 if repetition of digits is not allowed?
A. 350 B. 360 C. 370 D. 380

___5. From among the 36 teachers in a college, one principal, one

vice-principal and the teacher-in charge are to be appointed. In
how many ways this can be done?
A. 41 800 B. 41 840 C. 42 800 D. 42 840

___6. In how many ways can 4 employees be chosen (from 12) to be

placed in 4 different jobs?
A. 11 880 B. 11 900 C. 12 880 D. 12 900

___7. How many different ways can the offices of president, vice
president, secretary, and treasurer be chosen from an
organization of 67 members?
A. 17 395 520 B. 18 395 520
C. 19 395 520 D. 20 395 520

___8. In how many ways can 5 motorcycles be parked if there are 7

available parking spaces?
A. 1 250 B. 1 520 C. 2 250 D. 2 520

___9. How many different ways are there to arrange your first three
classes if they are math, science, and language arts?
A. 2 B. 4 C. 6 D. 8

___10. You take a survey with five “yes” or “no” answers. How many
different ways could you complete the survey?
A. 12 B. 24 C. 28 D. 32

___11. It is required to seat 5 men and 4 women in a row so that the

women occupy the even places. How many such arrangements
are possible?
A. 2 880 B. 2 900 C. 3 880 D. 3 900

___12. Using the digits 1, 2, 3, and 5, how many 4-digit numbers can be
formed if the number must be divisible by 2 and repetition is not
allowed?
A. 6 B. 12 C. 24 D. 36

___13. There are four Gators in a holding cell at the jail. They will be
asked to arrange themselves from left to right in a police line-up.
How many different line-ups are possible?
A. 6 B. 12 C. 24 D. 36

2
___14. 10 students have appeared in a test in which the top three will
get a prize. How many possible ways are there to get the prize
winners?
A. 620 B. 720 C. 820 D. 920

___15. There are 6 people who will sit in a row but out of them Ronnie
will always be left of Annie and Rachel will always be right of
Annie. In how many such arrangement can be done?
A. 120 B. 160 C. 200 D. 220

I hope you answered all of the item! To check your score!

If your score is:

11-15 You are doing great! You may proceed to the next
activity that can be found in What’s More after
reviewing the missed items.
6-10 You are doing well but you need to proceed to the next
activities/exercises of this lesson.
1-5 You need to study harder. Ask help from your teacher
or parent or friend. Study the next examples and
answer the next activities.

What’s In

In this lesson, it is relevant to know the basic operation in

Mathematics especially the multiplication and addition. I think you
already mastered it when you were in your elementary level. The lesson
is not just multiplying and adding all the numbers but also
comprehending first the problems before performing the operations.

3
 What’s New
Activity 1: Find Me Interesting!

1. In how many ways can four-letter word CODE be arranged its letters
3 at a time?

Solution: Using Reasoning

There are 3 positions to be filled. We write the horizontal marks: __

__ __. On each horizontal mark, we write the number of choices we have
in filling up the said position. There are 4 choices for the first position and
3 choices left for the second position. There are 2 choices left for the
third position after filling the first and second position. Therefore, the
three entries on the horizontal marks would be

4 3 2

We apply the Fundamental Counting Principle and multiply:

4 × 3 × 2 = 24

Thus, there are 24 possible ways of arranging the 4 letters of CODE

taking 3 at a time. We also say the 4 letters of CODE, taken 3 at a time,
have 24 permutations.

2. Twelve students compete in a race. In how many ways first

three prizes be given?

Solution: Using Reasoning

The total number of students is 12. All the students will have equal
chance to get 1st prize.

The number of ways to get the first prize is 12.

Out of 12 students, only 11 students are eligible to get the second

prize. Because 1 student got the first prize already.

The number of ways to get the second prize is 11.

Out of 12 students, only 10 students are eligible to get the second

prize. Because for the 2 students already got the first and second prize
respectively.

4
 Number of ways to get the third prize = 10

Total number of ways = 12 x 11 x 10 = 1320

There are 1320 number of ways.

3. In how many ways can a president, a treasurer and a secretary be

chosen from among 7 candidates?

Solution: Using Reasoning

For the first position, there are 7 possible choices. After that
candidate is chosen, there are 6 possible choices. Finally, there are 5
possible choices. We apply the Fundamental Counting Principle and
multiply:

7 × 6 × 5 = 210

There are 210 possible ways to choose a president, a treasurer

and a secretary be chosen from among 7 candidates.

To test if you understand the examples above, answer the activity

below. You can do this!

Activity 2: Find Me Out!

Answer each permutation completely: Show your solutions to the

other sheets given.

1. A license plate begins with three letters. If the possible letters are A, B, C,
D and E, how many different permutations of these letters can be made if
no letter is used more than once?

2. In a town fiesta singing competition with 10 contestants, in how many

ways can the organizer arrange the first three singers?

5
3. Using the digits 1, 2, 3, and 5, how many 4-digit numbers can be
formed if the number must be divisible by 2 and repetition is not
allowed?

4. In how many ways can 5 motorcycles be parked if there are 7

available parking spaces?

5. Ten swimmers join a swimming competition. In how many ways can

they be arranged as first, second, and third placers?

What Is It
Fundamental Counting Principle Defined

Fundamental counting principle states that activity A can be done

in 𝑛1 ways, activity B can be done in 𝑛2 ways, activity C in 𝑛3 ways, and
so on, then activities A, B, C can be done simultaneously in
𝑛1 × 𝑛2 × 𝑛3 … ways.

6
For example:
A. A close friend invited Marie on her birthday party. Marie has 4 new
dresses (sleeveless, stripes, long-sleeved, and with ruffles) and 3
shoes (black, pink, and blue) in her closet reserved for such
occasions.

1. In how many ways can Marie select her outfit if any shoes can be
paired with any dress? List all the possibilities.

Solution:

Dresses- sleeveless, stripes, long-sleeved, with ruffles

Shoes- black, pink, blue
Possible outfits: Possible outfits:
Dress - shoe Dress - shoe
Sleeveless - black long-sleeved- black
Sleeveless - pink long-sleeved- pink
Sleeveless - blue long-sleeved- blue
Stripes - black with ruffles - black
Stripes - pink with ruffles - pink
Stripes - blue with ruffles - blue

2. How many dress and shoe pairs are possible?

12 dress and shoe pairs are possible.

In this example, you can also use the tree diagram in finding the
possible pairs of dress and shoes. But the number of possible dress-
shoes pairs can be obtained also by using the fundamental counting
principle (FCP).

Solution: 4 choices for dress x 3 choices of shoes = 12 possible

pairs

B. A person wants to buy one fountain pen, one ball pen and one
pencil from a stationery shop. If there are 10 fountain pen varieties, 12
ball pen varieties and 5 pencil varieties, in how many ways can he
select these articles?

Solution:

A person needs to buy fountain pen, one ball pen and one pencil.
That is we have to do all the works.

7
 Number of ways selecting fountain pen = 10

Number of ways selecting ball pen = 12

Number of ways selecting pencil = 5

Total number of selecting all these = 10 x 12 x 5 = 600 number of

ways.

Therefore, there are 600 number of ways of selecting a fountain

pen, ball pen, and a pencil.

What’s More
Activity 3: Guided/Controlled Practice

Study the different problems with solution below. If there are some
item that you don’t understand, do not hesitate to ask assistance from
your teacher’s, parent, and friend.

1. You are choosing a password that has 4 letters followed by 2

digits. How many passwords are possible if letters and digits can
be repeated?

Solution:

There are 26 choices for each letter and 10 choices for each digit.
Use the fundamental counting principle.

Number of passwords = 26 × 26 × 26 × 26 × 10 × 10 = 45 697 600

Thus, the number of different passwords is 45 697 600.

2. To buy a computer system, a customer can choose one of 4

monitors, one of 2 keyboards, one of 4 computers and one of 3
printers. Determine the number of possible systems that a
customer can choose from.

Solution:

Using the counting principle used in the introduction above, the

number of all possible computer systems that can be bought is given by:

𝑁 = 4 × 2 × 4 × 3 = 96

8
 Therefore, the number of possible systems that a customer can be
choose from is 96.

3. A student can select one of 6 different mathematics books, one

of three different chemistry books and one of 4 different science
books. In how many different ways can a student select a book of
mathematics, a book of chemistry and a book of science?

Solution:

The total number N of different ways that the students can select
his 3 books is given by:

𝑁 = 6 × 3 × 4 = 72

So, the number N of different ways that the students can select his
3 books is 72.

4. A man has 3 different suits, 4 different shirts and 5 different pairs

of shoes. In how many ways can this man wear a suit, a shirt and
a pair of shoes?

Solution:
The total number N of different ways that this man can wear one of
his suits, one of his shirts and a pair of his shoes is:

𝑁 = 3 × 4 × 5 = 60

Therefore, the total number of different ways that this man can
wear one of his suits, one of his shirts and a pair of his shoes is 60.

5. Using the digits 1, 2, 3, and 5, how many 4-digit numbers can be

formed if the first digit must be 1 and repetition of the digits is
allowed?

Solution:

One (1) choice for the first digit. Four (4) choices for the last 3 digits
that form the 4-digit number since repetition is allowed. Hence the
number N of numbers that we may form is given by:

𝑁 = 1 × 4 × 4 × 4 = 64

The total number of numbers that we may form is 64.

9
 The total number of different outcomes is 36.

I think you already understand the practice activity above. To check

your understanding, answer the activity below.

Activity 4: Independent Practice

Answer the following problems below. Show your solutions in a

separate sheet of paper.

1. A restaurant offers four sizes of pizza, two types of crust, and eight
toppings. How many possible combination of pizza with one topping
are there?

2. Rod has 4 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, and 2 pairs of shoes that all
coordinate. How many outfits can you put together?

3. You are buying a new car. There are two body style (sedan or
hatchback). There are 5 colors available (black, red, green, blue, and
white). And there are 3 models (GL, SS, and SL). How many total
choices are there?

4. There are eight finalist in the Miss Philippines contest. How many
different outcomes are possible if one person will be selected First
Runner-Up and another will be Miss Philippines?

5. Ronnie is planning a date with his girlfriend. He plans for them to

watch a movie, go out to dinner, and then attend a sporting event.
He is deciding between 5 movies, 8 restaurants, and 2 sporting
events. How many different dates can Ronnie plan?

I hope you answered all of the item! To check your score!

If your score is:

5 You are doing great! You may proceed to the next activity,
the Assessment (Activity 8) after reviewing the missed
items.
3-4 You are doing well but you need to proceed to the next
activities/exercises of this lesson.
1-2 You need to study harder. Ask help from your teacher or
parent or friend. Study the next examples and answer the
next activities.

10
 What I Have Learned
Activity 5: Accomplish With Me!

Answer the following problems. Show your solution.

1. If Zian has 10 T-shirts, 7 pairs of pants, and 4 pairs of shoes, how

many possibilities can he dress himself up for the day?

2. In how many ways can 9 children arrange themselves in a row for a

picture taking?

3. A dress-shop owner has 15 new dresses that she wants to display in

the window if the display window has 5 mannequins, in how many
ways can she dress them up?

4. How many four-digit numbers can be formed from the numbers 1, 3,

4, 6, 8, and 9 if repetition of digits is not allowed?

5. From among the 36 teachers in a college, one principal, one vice-

principal and the teacher-in charge are to be appointed. In how
many ways this can be done?

11
 What I Can Do
Activity 6: I Can Do It!

Perform the activity as indicated. Show your solution to the other

sheets given.

1. There are four Gators in a holding cell at the jail. They will be asked
to arrange themselves from left to right in a police line-up. How many
different line-ups are possible?

2. Given 7 flags of different colors, how many different signals can be generated
if a signal requires the use of two flags, one below the other?

3. There are 6 people who will sit in a row but out of them Ronnie will
always be left of Annie and Rachel will always be right of Annie. In
how many such arrangement can be done?

4. 10 students have appeared in a test in which the top three will get a
prize. How many possible ways are there to get the prize winners?

5. It is required to seat 5 men and 4 women in a row so that the

women occupy the even places. How many such arrangements are
possible?

Assessment
Activity 7: Guided Assessment

Study the different problems with solution below. If there are some
item that you don’t understand, do not hesitate to ask assistance from
your teacher’s, parent, and friend.

1. Ernie has 5 tops, 6 skirts and 4 caps from which to choose an outfit.
In how many ways can she select one top, one skirt and one cap?

12
Solution:

Ways= 5 × 6 × 4 = 120

2. Coldstone Creamery has 10 different choices of ice cream, 12 different

choices of toppings, and 3 different sizes of waffle bowls. If Edward
wants to get a waffle bowl, one kind of ice cream, and one topping,
how many different ways can he choose his dessert?

Solution:

There are:
10 = ice cream
12 = toppings
3 = waffle bowl

So, the number N of different ways that Edward choose his dessert
is,

𝑁 = 10 × 12 × 3 = 360 different ways.

3. The school cafeteria offers five sandwich choices, four desserts, and
three beverages. How many different meals consisting of one
sandwich, one dessert, and one beverage can be ordered?

Solution:

The choices are:

5 = sandwich
4 = desserts
3 = beverages

𝑁 = 5 × 4 × 3 = 60

Hence, there are 60 different meals consisting of one sandwich,

one dessert, and one beverage that can be ordered.

4. A school plays a series of 6 soccer matches. For each match there

are 3 possibilities: a win, a draw or a loss. How many possible results
are there for the series?

Solution:

Step 1: Determine how many outcomes you have to choose from for
each event

There are 3 outcomes for each match: win, draw or lose.

Step 2: Determine the number of events

13
 There are 6 matches, therefore the number of events is 6.

Step 3: Determine the possible outcomes

There are 3 possible outcomes for each of the 6 events. Therefore,

the total number of possible outcomes for the series of matches is:

𝑁 = 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 = 36 = 729.

5. A gift basket is made up from one CD, one book, one box of sweets,
one packet of nuts and one bottle of fruit juice. The person who
makes up the gift basket can choose from five different CD’s, eight
different books, three different boxes of sweets, four kinds of nuts
and six flavors of fruit juice. How many different gift baskets can be
produced?

Solution:

5 = CD’s
8 = Books
3 = boxes of sweets
4 = nuts
6 = flavors of fruit juice

𝑁 = 5 × 8 × 3 × 4 × 6 = 2 880 possible gifts

Therefore, the number N of different gift basket is 2 880.

I think you already understand the practice activity above. To check

your understanding, answer the activity below.

Activity 8: Independent Assessment

Answer the following problems solving. Show your solution to the

separate sheet.

1. A movie theatre sells 3 sizes of popcorn (small, medium, and large)

with 3 choices of toppings (no butter, butter, extra butter). How many
possible ways can a bag of popcorn be purchased?

2. Maggie is choosing silverware with which to eat dinner. There are 3

knives and 4 forks to choose from. How many different silverware sets
can Maggie choose?

3. A baseball manager is determining the batting order for the team. The
team has 9 players, but the manager definitely wants the pitcher to bat
last. How many batting orders are possible?

4. In how many different ways can a10-question true-false test be

answered if it is all right to leave questions unanswered?
14
 5. You are taking a survey on your experience at Taco Bell. For the first
five questions you can answer Below Average, Average, or Above
Average for each question. The last three questions you can respond
with either Agree or Disagree. How many total outcomes are there
for this survey?

Thank you for answering this activity. To check your score!

If your score is:

5 You are doing great! You may proceed to lesson 2 after

reviewing the missed items.
3-4 You are doing well but you need to proceed to the next
activities/exercises of this lesson.
1-2 You need to study harder. Ask help from your teacher or
parent or friend. Study the next examples and answer the
next activities.

Additional Activities
Answer the following problems. Show your solution to the separate
sheet.

1. A computer password is consist of two lower case letters followed by

four digits. Determine how many passwords are possible if repetition
of letters and digits is permitted?

2. A computer password is consist of two lower case letters followed by

four digits. Determine how many passwords are possible if repetition
of letters and digits is NOT permitted?

3. Liza, Michelle, Sally, and Bob are waiting in line to buy concert tickets.
In how many different ways can they stand in line?

4. The daily double at most racetracks consist of selecting the winning

horse in both the first and the second race. If the first race has 7 entries
and the second has 8 entries, how many daily double tickets must you
purchase to guarantee a win?

5. A class ring has three stone options (emerald, ruby or sapphire), two
metal options (gold and silver). How many different class rings are
possible?

15
 Solving Problems
using the
Permutations
Lesson Formula
2
What I Need to Know
This lesson is written for you to solve problems in permutations of
which the number of permutations of n objects taken r at a time is:
𝑛!
𝑃(𝑛, 𝑟) = (𝑛−𝑟)! , 𝑛 ≥ 𝑟. And the permutations of n objects taken all the
time is: 𝑃(𝑛, 𝑛) = 𝒏!. To solve different level of problems, you are going
to use the permutations formula.

You may SKIP this lesson or its activities if you already master the skill
and get a score of 11 out of 15 items in the pre-test.

What I Know
Find out how much you already know about this lesson. Choose
the letter that you think is correct and write your answer on the space
provided before each number on the separate sheet. Take note of the
items that you were not able to answer correctly and look for the right
answer as you go through this module.

___1. There are 4 czech and 3 slovak books on the bookshelf. Czech
books should be placed on the left side of the bookshelf and
slovak books on the right side of the bookshelf. How many ways
are there to arrange the books?
A. 140 B. 142 C. 144 D. 148

___2. How many five-digit numbers can be formed from the numbers
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 if repetition of digits is not allowed?
A. 6 000 B. 6 500 C. 6 662 D. 6 720

___3. A zip code contains 5 digits. How many different zip codes can
be made with the digits 0–9 if no digit is used more than once
and the first digit is not 0?
A. 27 216 B. 27 220 C. 28 216 D. 28 220

16
___4. In how many different ways can 11 people occupy the 11 seats in
a back row of a mini-theater?
A. 38 900 880 B. 38 916 880
C. 39 900 800 D. 39 916 800

___5. A doctor wants to assign 5 different tasks to his 5 nurses. In how

many possible ways can he do it?
A. 120 B. 240 C. 360 D. 420

___6. In a town fiesta singing competition with 10 contestants, in how

many can the organizer arrange the first three singers?
A. 620 B. 700 C. 720 D. 800

___7. In how many ways 6 children can be arranged in a line, if two

particular children of them are never together?
A. 450 B. 480 C. 550 D. 580

___8. Determine the different ways can 9 potted plants be arranged in

a row?
A. 361 800 B. 360 880 C. 362 800 D. 362 880

___9. A licence plate begins with three letters. If the possible letters are
A, B, C, D and E, how many different permutations of these
letters can be made if no letter is used more than once?
A. 30 B. 40 C. 60 D. 70

___10. In how many ways can you place 9 different books on a shelf if
there is space enough for only 4 books?
A. 3 000 B. 3 024 C. 4 000 D. 4 024

___11. If a class has 28 students, how many different arrangements

can 5 students give a presentation to the class?
A. 11 793 600 B. 11 800 601
C. 12 793 600 B. 12 800 601

___12. A dress-shop owner has 10 new dresses that she wants to

display in the window. If the display window has 6 mannequins,
in how many ways can she dress them up?
A. 150 000 B. 150 200 C. 151 000 D. 151 200

___13. It is required to seat 4 men and 4 women in a row so that the

women occupy the even places. How many such arrangements
are possible?
A. 500 B. 550 C. 576 D. 600
16
___14. Consider a set having 5 elements L, M, N, O, and P. In how
many ways 3 elements can be selected out of the total number
of elements if repetition is not allowed?
A. 15 B. 30 C. 45 D. 60

17
 ___15. Sixteen skiers are competing in the final round of Olympic
freestyle skiing aerial competition. In how many different ways
can 3 of the skiers finish first, second, and third to win the gold,
silver, and bronze medals?
A. 3 360 B. 3 370 C. 4 360 D. 4 370

Great job! You are done answering. And now, kindly check your
score! If your score is:

11-15 You are doing great! You may proceed to the next
activity that can be found in What’s More after
reviewing the missed items.
6-10 You are doing well but you need to proceed to the next
activities/exercises of this lesson.
1-5 You need to study harder. Ask help from your teacher
or parent or friend. Study the next examples and
answer the different activities.

What’s In

You were done in lesson 1, and now you are studying lesson 2 of
this module. I know you can simply understand this lesson because in
understanding permutations, you should have the skills and knowledge
in the basic counting principle called the fundamental counting principle
that you learned in lesson 1.

What’s New
Activity 10: Can You Show Me the Formula?

1. In how many ways can four-letter word CODE be arrange its letters 3
at a time?

Solution: Using the permutation formula

The problem involves 4-letter word CODE taken 3 at a time.

4! 4! 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
𝑃(4,3) = = = = 4 × 3 × 2 = 24
(4 − 3)? 1! 1

There are 24 possible ways of arranging the 4-letter word CODE.

18
2. In how many ways can 4 flower vase wish to arrange 4 of them in a row for
the birthday party?

Solution: Using the permutation formula

The problem involves 4 flower vase wish to arrange 4 of them in a

row.

𝑃(4,4) = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24

Therefore, there are 24 possible ways.

In this example, we used all the numbers from 𝑛 = 4 down to 1.

Another way of writing
4 × 3 × 2 × 1 is 4! (read as 4 factorial).
Similarly, 5! = 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120
6! = 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 720
3! = 3 × 2 × 1 = 6
1! = 1

For convenience, we define 0! = 1

Thus, in example 2, 𝑃(4,4) = 4! = 24

3. In how many ways can a president, a treasurer and a secretary be

chosen from among 7 candidates?

Solution: Using permutation formula

The problem involves 7 candidates taken 3 at a time.

7! 7! 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
𝑃(7,3) = = = = 7 × 6 × 5 = 210
(7 − 3)! 4! 4×3×2×1

There are 210 possible ways to choose a president, a treasurer

and a secretary be chosen from among 7 candidates.

19
Activity 11: Let’s Try This!

Answer each permutations completely: Show your solution to the

other sheets given.

1. In how many ways can 7 people arrange themselves in a row for picture
taking?

2. In how many different ways can 8 different-colored goats be

positioned in a carousel?

3. A doctor wants to assign 5 different tasks to his 5 nurses. In how

many possible ways can he do it?

4. In how many different ways can 11 people occupy the 11 seats in a

back row of a mini-theater?

5. In how many ways can you place 9 different books on a shelf if there
is space enough for only 4 books?

What Is It
What is Permutation?
A permutation is an arrangement of all or part of a set of
objects, with regard to the order of the arrangement.

For example:
1. Suppose we have a set of three letters: A, B, and C. We might ask
how many ways we can arrange 2 letters from that set. Each
possible arrangement would be an example of a permutation. The
complete list of possible permutations would be: AB, AC, BA, BC,
CA, and CB.
When they refer to permutations, statisticians use a specific
terminology. They describe permutations as n distinct objects taken r at
a time. Translation: n refers to the number of objects from which the
permutation is formed; and r refers to the number of objects used to form
the permutation. Consider the example from the previous paragraph.
The permutation was formed from 3 letters (A, B, and C), so n = 3; and
the permutation consisted of 2 letters, so r = 2.

20
Computing the number of Permutations
The number of permutations of n objects taken r at a time is
nPr = n(n - 1)(n - 2) ... (n - r + 1) = n! / (n - r)!
or
𝑛!
𝑃(𝑛, 𝑟) = (𝑛−𝑟)! , 𝑛 ≥ 𝑟, The Formula

Solution: Using permutation formula

The problem involves 3 letters taken 2 at a time.

3! 3! 3 × 2 × 1
𝑃(3,2) = = = = 3×2= 6
(3 − 2)! 1! 1

Thus, there 6 possible arrangement of the set of three letters (A, B, C).

2. How many 3 letter words with or without meaning can be formed out
of the letters of the word SWING when repetition of letters is not
allowed?

20
Solution:

Here n = 5, as the word SWING has 5 letters. Since we have to

frame 3 letter words with or without meaning and without repetition,
therefore total permutations possible are:

Using permutation formula

The problem involves 5 letters taken 3 at a time.

5! 5! 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
𝑃(5,3) = = = = 5 × 4 × 3 = 60
(5 − 3)! 2! 2×1

So, there 60 letters that can be formed of the word SWING with or
without meaning.

21
 What’s More
Activity 12: Guided/Controlled Practice

Study the practice below.

1. There are 6 people who will sit in a row but out of them Ronnie will
always be left of Annie and Rachel will always be right of Annie. In
how many ways such arrangement can be done?

Solution:

The total number of ways of 6 people being seated in a row will be

6!
6! Now, with the given constraint the total number of ways will be 3!.
Thus,

6! 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
𝑃= = = 6 × 5 × 4 = 120
3! 3×2×1

It implies that out of 6 people arrangement of arrangement of 3

people is predefined.

2. How many different number-plates for cars can be made if each

number-plate contains four of the digits 0 to 9 followed by a letter A to
Z, assuming that no repetition is allowed?

Solution:

There are 10 possible digits (0, 1, 2, . . ., 9) and we need to take

them 4 at a time. There are 26 letters in the alphabet.

With no repetition, we have:

10! 10!
𝑃(10,4) × 26 = × 26 = × 26
(10 − 4)! 6!

10 × 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
= × 26
6×5×4×3×2×1

= 10 × 9 × 8 × 7 × 26 = 5 040 × 26 = 131 040.

3. How many 3 letter words can we make with the letters on the word
LOVE?

22
 Solution:

There are 4 letters in the word love and making 3 letter words is
similar to arranging these 3 letters and order is important since LOV and
VOL are different words because of the order of the same letters L, O
and V. Hence it is a permutation problem. The number of word given by,

4! 4!
𝑃(4,3) = = = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24.
(4 − 3)! 1

Therefore, there are 24 different ways can we make with the letters
on the word LOVE.

4. How many different ways can the offices of president, vice president,
secretary, treasurer, and auditor be chosen from an organization of
50 members?

Solution:

There are 50 members in an organization, then we choose a

president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and auditor.

50! 50!
𝑃(50,5) = = = 50 × 49 × 48 × 47 × 46 = 254 251 200
(50 − 5)! 45!

Thus, the different ways can the offices of president, vice president,
secretary, treasurer, and auditor be chosen from an organization of 50
members is 254 251 200.

22
5. If a class has 28 students, how many different arrangements can 5
students give a presentation to the class?

Solution:

Using the permutations formula which the 𝑛 = 28 and the 𝑟 = 5.

28! 28!
𝑃(28,5) = = = 28 × 27 × 26 × 25 × 24 = 11 793 600
(28 − 5)! 23!

Therefore, there are 11 793 600 different arrangements.

You are done studying the activity above, to check if you get this, please
answer the next activity.

23
 Activity 13: Independent Practice

Answer each problem completely: Show your solution on the

sheets provided.

1. A coach must choose how to line up his five starters from a team of
12 players. How many different ways can the coach choose the
starters?

2. How many different ways you can elect a Chairman and Co-Chairman
of a committee if you have 10 people to choose from.

3. There are 25 people who worked in an office together. Five of these

are selected to attend five different conferences. The first person
selected will go to a conference in a Hawaii, the second will go New
York, the third will go to San Diego, the fourth will go to Atlanta, and
the fifth will go to Nashville. How many such selections are possible?

4. A disc jockey has to choose three songs for the last few minutes of his
evening show. If there are nine songs that he feels are appropriate for
that time slot, then how many ways can he choose and arrange to play
three of those nine songs?

5. How many 3 letter words can we make with the letters on the word
SOLVE?

Nice work! Since you answered this activity. Check your score!
If your score is:

5 You are doing great! You may proceed to the next

activity, the Assessment (Activity 17) after reviewing the
missed items.
3-4 You are doing well but you need to proceed to the next
activities/exercises of this lesson.
1-2 You need to study harder. Ask help from your teacher or
parent or friend. Study the next examples and answer the
next activities.

24
 What I Have Learned
Activity 14: Warm That Brain Up!

Answer the following problems. Show your solution to the separate

sheet.

1. Sixteen skiers are competing in the final round of the Olympic

freestyle skiing aerial competition. In how many different ways can 3
of the skiers finish first, second, and third to win the gold, silver, and
bronze medals?

2. Suppose that 7 people enter a swim meet. Assuming that there are no
ties, in how many ways could the gold, silver, and bronze medals be
awarded?

3. A dress-shop owner has 10 new dresses that she wants to display in

the window. If the display window has 6 mannequins, in how many
ways can she dress them up?

4. How many five-digit numbers can be formed from the numbers

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 if repetition of digits is not allowed?

5. From among the 36 teachers in a college, one principal, one vice-

principal and the teacher-in charge are to be appointed. In how
many ways this can be done?

What I Can Do
Activity 15: Tell Me If I Can Do It?

Perform the activity as indicated. Show your solution to the

separate paper.

1. A professor wants to write and ordered 7-questions test from a pool

of 10 questions. How many different forms of the test can the
professor write?

2. How many positive integers of 5 digits may be made from the ciphers
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, if each cipher may be used just once?

25
3. There are 4 czech and 3 slovak books on the bookshelf. Czech books
should be placed on the left side of the bookshelf and slovak books on the
right side of the bookshelf. How many ways are there to arrange the
books?

4. There are 4 elements a, b, c, and d. Use them to make permutations

(without repetition).

5. How many 3 letter words with or without meaning can be formed out
of the letters of the word SOLUTION when repetition of words is
NOT allowed?

Assessment
Activity 16: Guided Assessment

Study and understand the different problems below.

1. 10 students have appeared in a test in which the top three will get a
prize. How many possible ways are there to get the prize winners?
Solution:

We need to choose and arrange 3 persons out of 10. Hence the

number of possible ways will be,

10! 10 × 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
𝑃 (10,3) = =
(10 − 3)! 7×6×5×4×3×2×1

= 10 × 9 × 8 = 720

2. Twenty bands have applied to march in the parade, but only seven
spots are available. How many permutations of seven bands are
possible for their order in the parade?

Solution:

There are 20 bands applied to march in the parade but only 7 spots
are available. We simply ha:

20! 20!
𝑃= = = 20 × 19 × 18 × 17 × 16 × 15 × 14 = 390 700 800
(20 − 7)! 13!

Thus, there are 390 700 800 possible order in the parade.

3. How many 6 letter words can we make using the letters in the word
LIBERTY without repetitions?

26
 Solution:

There are 7 letters in the word LIBERTY and making 6 letter words
without repetition.
𝑛!
We will use the formula in solving: 𝑃(𝑛, 𝑟) = (𝑛−𝑟)!. So we simply
have:

7! 7!
𝑃(7,6) = = = 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 5 040.
(7 − 6)! 1!

4. In how many ways can a supermarket manager display 5 brands of

cereals in 3 spaces on a shelf?

Solution:

This is asking for the number of permutations, since we don’t want

repetitions. The number of ways is:

5! 5! 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
𝑃(5,3) = = = = 5 × 4 × 3 = 60.
(5 − 3)! 2! 2×1

5. John has 10 marbles in his bags. In how many ways can he pick 6
marbles from the bag?
Solution:

10! 10!
𝑃(10,6) = =
(10 − 6)! 4!
10 × 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
=
4×3×2×1
= 10 × 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 = 151 200

Activity 17: Independent Assessment

Answer the following problems below. Show your solution on the

separate sheets given.

1. There are 33 cars in a car race. The first, second, and third-place
finishers win a prize. How many different arrangements of the first three
positions are possible?

2. A shelf can hold 8 trophies. How many ways can the trophies be
arranged if there are 10 trophies?

3. You are considering 10 different colleges. Before you decide to apply

to the colleges, you want to visit some or all of them. In how many
orders can you visit 6 of the colleges?

27
4. Suppose we are going to use the symbols (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h) to form
a 5-character “password” having no repeated characters. How many
different passwords are possible?

5. How many arrangements of 4 letters from the word COMBINE if no

letter is used more than once?

Do you need more? Before you proceed to the next activity, kindly
check your score! If your score is:

5 You are doing great! You may proceed to the Lesson 3

after reviewing the missed items.
3-4 You are doing well but you need to proceed to the next
activities/exercises of this lesson.
1-2 You need to study harder. Ask help from your teacher or
parent or friend. Study the next examples and answer the
next activities.

Additional Activities
Answer the following problems below. Show your solutions.

1. If five alphabets are to be chosen from A, B, C, D, E, F and G such that

repetition is not allowed then in how many ways it can be done?

2. A shelf can hold 9 books. How many ways can the trophies be arranged
if there are 12 books?

3. Paul has 3 mobile phones in his desk. In how many different orders can
the mobile phones be arranged?

4. Given five letters (A, B, C, D, E). Find the following:

a. The number of four-letter word sequences.
b. The number of three-letter word sequences.
c. The number of two-letter word sequences.

5. How many permutations of the letters of the word ARTICLE have

consonants in the first and last positions?

28
 Distinguishable and
Lesson Circular Permutations
3

What I Need to Know

This lesson is created for you to solve problems in distinct or
distinguishable permutations and circular permutations. With the
problems given, you can either use reasoning to solve these types of
problems or you can use the distinguishable and the circular
permutations formula. Which the number of distinguishable
permutations, P, of n objects where p objects are alike, q objects are
𝒏!
alike, r objects are alike, and so on, is 𝑷 = while circular
𝒑!𝒒!𝒓!…
permutations, P, of n objects is: 𝑷 = (𝒏 − 𝟏)! .

You may SKIP this lesson or its activities if you already master the
skill and get a score of 11 out of 15 items in the pre-test.

What I Know
Find out how much you already know about this lesson. Choose
the letter that you think is correct and write your answer on the space
provided before each number on the separate sheet. Take note of the
items that you were not able to answer correctly and look for the right
answer as you go through this module.

___1. How many distinguishable permutations are possible with all the
letters of the word ELLIPSES?
A. 5 040 B. 5 060 C. 6 040 D. 6 060

___2. Find the number of different ways that a family of 6 can be

seated around a circular table with 6 chairs?
A. 90 B. 100 C. 120 D. 140

29
___3. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters of
the word ALLAHABAD.
A. 7 540 B. 7 560 C. 8 540 D. 8 560
___4. In how many ways can 10 persons sit at a round table for a group
discussions?
A. 362 150 B. 362 160 C. 362 800 D. 362 880

___5. Determine the number of ways such that 5 men and 5 women be
seated at a round table if no two women are seated together.
A. 362 150 B. 362 160 C. 362 800 D. 362 880

___6. In how many distinguishable ways can the letters in

MASSACHUSETTS be written?
A. 64 864 800 B. 64 864 900
C. 65 000 000 D. 65 864 800

___7. How many ways can 8 people sit in a circle?

A. 5 000 B. 5 020 C. 5 040 D. 6 000

___8. In how many ways can 14 volleyball players be arranged in a

circular bunch?
A. 5 227 020 800 B. 5 227 020 900
C. 6 227 020 800 D. 6 227 020 900

___9. Find the number of different ways that a family of 7 can be

seated around a circular table with 7 chairs?
A. 420 B. 520 C. 620 D. 720

___10. How many distinguishable permutations are possible with all the
letters of the word OCCASION?
A. 10 080 B. 10 100 C. 10 110 D. 10 120

___11. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters of

the word MISSISSIPPI?
A. 34 600 B. 34 650 C. 35 600 D. 35 650
___12. There are 12 people in a dinner gathering. In how many ways
can the host (one of the 12) arrange his guests around a dining
table if they can sit on any of the chairs?
A. 39 916 800 B. 39 916 900
C. 40 916 800 D. 40 916 900

30
 ___13. There are 12 people in a dinner gathering. In how many ways
can the host (one of the 12) arrange his guests around a dining
table if 3 people insist on sitting beside each other?
A. 1 177 260 B. 1 177 280
C. 2 177 260 D. 2 177 280
___14. A building contractor is planning to develop a subdivision that
consist of 6 one-story houses, 4 two-story houses, and 2 split-
level houses. In how many distinguishable ways can the houses
be arranged?
A. 11 860 B. 12 860 C. 13 860 D. 14 860

___15. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters in

the word MALL.
A. 4 B. 8 C. 12 D. 16

If you all answered the problems above. Then, check your score!
If your score is:

11-15 You are doing great! You may proceed to the next
activity that can be found in What’s More after reviewing
the missed items.
6-10 You are doing well but you need to proceed to the next
activities/exercises of this lesson.
1-5 You need to study harder. Ask help from your teacher or
parent or friend. Study the next examples and answer the
different activities.

What’s In

Answer Me:

In how many distinguishable permutations does the word

PHILIPPINES have?
How many ways can you arrange 7 people seated in a circular
table?

Find out the answer to these questions while studying this lesson
and discover its application.

31
 What’s New

Activity 18: Investigate Me!

1. How many distinguishable permutations exist for the letters in the word
TENNESSEE?

Solution:
There are nine total letters in word, therefore, 𝑛 = 9
𝑛1 = 1 𝑇
𝑛2 = 4 𝐸
𝑛3 = 2 𝑁
𝑛4 = 2 𝑆
Therefore, the number of distinguishable permutations equals:

Using the distinguishable permutations formula:

𝑛!
𝑃=
𝑛1 ! 𝑛2 ! 𝑛3 ! 𝑛4 !
9! 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 15 120
𝑃= = = =
1! 4! 2! 2! 1 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 × 2 × 1 × 2 × 1 2×2 4

= 3 780

Thus, there are 3 780 distinguishable permutations of the word

TENNESSEE.

2. Find the number of permutations of the letters of the word

STATISTICS.

Solution: Using Reasoning

There are 10 letters of the word. Assuming that the letters are
distinct, there are

𝑃(10,10) = 10! permutations.

However, we have to take into consideration that the 3 S’s are alike,
the 3 T’s are alike, and the 2 I’s are also alike. The permutations of the
3 S’s is 𝑃(3,3) = 3!. The permutations of the 3 T’s is 𝑃(3,3) = 3!. The
permutations of the 2 I’s is 𝑃(2,2) = 2!.

So, we must divide 10! by 3! 3! 2! In order to eliminate the

duplicates,

32
Thus,
10!
𝑃=
3! 3! 2!

10×9×8×7×6×5×4×3×2×1 10×9×8×7×5×4 100 800

𝑃= = = = 50 400
3×2×1×3×2×1×2×1 2 2

This leads to the next rule.

The number of distinguishable permutations, P, of n objects

where p objects are alike, q objects are alike, r objects are alike, and so
𝑛!
on, is: 𝑃 = .
𝑝!𝑞!𝑟!…

Let us now consider arrangement of objects in a circle, which we

call circular permutations.

3. a. In how many ways can 3 people be seated around a circular

table?

Solution: 𝒏 = 𝟑

Notice that the arrangement 1-2-3 in (a) above is the same as 2-3-
1 and 3-1-2; meaning these 3 permutations are just one and the same.
Notice also that the arrangements 1-2-3, 3-2-1, and 2-1-3 are also just
the same as seen in (b).

So, the circular permutations, P, of 3 objects is:

6
𝑃=
3

3!
𝑃=
3

3 × 2!
𝑃=
3
𝑃 = 2!

33
 We can also look at this way:

If there are 3 seats around the circular table, we can assign one of
the persons to a fixed seat and determine the number of ways that the
other two can be arranged. This way, we avoid counting again an
arrangement that resulted from a mere rotation. Thus, the number of
circular permutations of 3 objects is (3 − 1)! 𝑜𝑟 2! And the circular
permutations of n objects is (𝑛 − 1)!.

b. In how many ways can 4 people be seated around a circular table?

Solution: (𝑛 = 4) Let us call the 4 people E, F, G, H

The arrangements are:

E-F-G-H E-F-H-G E-G-F-H E-G-H-B E-H-F-G E-H-G-F

F-G-H-E F-H-G-E G-F-H-E G-H-F-E H-F-G-E H-G-F-E
G-H-E-F H-G-E-F F-H-E-G H-F-E-G F-G-E-H G-F-E-H
H-E-F-G G-E-F-H H-E-G-F F-E-G-H G-E-H-F F-E-H-G

Observe that all the arrangements falling on the same column are
just the same because the 4 people are supposed to be seated around
a circular table. There are 24 arrangements in the list. Again, the circular
permutations, P, of 4 objects is:

24
𝑃=
4

4!
𝑃=
4

4 × 3!
𝑃=
4

𝑃=3

Or simply, 𝑃 = (𝒏 − 𝟏)!

𝑃 = (4 − 1)!

𝑃 = 3!

𝑃=6

The permutations of n objects arranged in a circle is: 𝑃 = (𝑛 − 1)!

34
Activity 19: Can You Test Me?

Answer each permutation completely: Show your solution to the

separate sheet.

1. How many distinguishable permutations are possible with all the

letters of the word ELLIPSES?

2. Find the number of different ways that a family of 6 can be seated

around a circular table with 6 chairs?

3. How many distinguishable permutations exist for the letters in the

word CINCINNATI?

4. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters of the

word ALLAHABAD.

5. In how many ways can 12 volleyball players be arranged in a

Circular bunch?

What Is It
Distinguishable and Circular Permutations Defined

Distinguishable Permutations refers to the permutations of a set of

objects where some of them are alike. The number of distinguishable
permutations of n objects when p are alike, q are alike, r are alike, and
𝑛!
so on, is given by 𝑃 = .
𝑝!𝑞!𝑟!…

For Example: Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the

letter OHIO.

Solution: Using Reasoning

There are 4 letters of the word OHIO, therefore, 𝑛 = 4 and 𝑝 = 2 𝑂.

Using the formula:

𝑛!
𝑃=
𝑝!

4!
𝑃=
2!

4×3×2×1
𝑃=
2×1

35
 24
𝑃=
2

𝑃 = 12

Thus, there are 12 distinguishable permutations of the word OHIO.

What is Circular Permutations?

Circular Permutations refers to the different possible

arrangements of objects in a circle. The number of permutations P of n
objects around a circle is given by 𝑃 = (𝑛 − 1)!. If clockwise and anti-
clockwise circular permutations are considered to be the same, then it is
(𝑛−1)!
𝑃= 2 .
Note: The number of circular permutations of n things when p are alike
and the rest different all taken at a time distinguishing clockwise and anti-
(𝑛−1)!
clockwise arrangement is 𝑃 = 𝑝! .

For Examples:

1. 10 toppings of pizza are placed on the plate. How many ways can
they be arranged?

Solution:
𝑃 = (𝑛 − 1)!

𝑃 = (10 − 1)!

𝑃 = 9!

𝑃 = 9×8×7×6×5×4×3×2×1

𝑃 = 362 880

Therefore, there are 362 880 possible arrangements of the 10

toppings of pizza.

2. In how many ways can 7 different charms be arranged on a circular

bracelet?

Solution: Using the ring permutation principle, there are:

(𝑛 − 1)!
𝑃=
2

(7 − 1)!
𝑃=
2

36
 6!
𝑃= 2

6×5×4×3×2×1
𝑃=
2

720
𝑃=
2

𝑃 = 360

Thus, there are 360 possible arrangements of 7 different charms in

a circular bracelet.

3. Find the permutations of 6 people sitting around on a circular table if:

a. no restrictions

Solution:
𝑃 = (𝑛 − 1)!

𝑃 = (6 − 1)!

𝑃 = 5!

𝑃 = 5×4×3×2×1

𝑃 = 120

Therefore, there are 120 permutations if no restrictions of 6 people

sitting around on a circular table.

b. 2 cannot sit next to each other

Solution:
𝑃 = (𝑛 − 1)! − (𝑛 − 2)! × 2!

𝑃 = (6 − 1)! − (6 − 2)! × 2!

𝑃 = 5! − 4! × 2!

𝑃 = 120 − 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 × 2 × 1

𝑃 = 120 − 48

𝑃 = 72
Thus, there are 72 permutations if 2 cannot sit next to each other.

37
 What’s More
Activity 20: Guided/Controlled Practice

Answer each problem completely: Show your solution on the

sheets provided.

1. Ellie want to change her password which is ELLIE9 but with the same
letters and number. In how many ways she can do that?

Solution:

Total number of letters = 6

Repeated letters = 2Ls and 2 Es
Number of times ELLIE9 can be rearranged by:

6! 6×5×4×3×2×1 6×5×4×3×2×1
𝑃= = =
2! 2! 2×1×2×1 4

= 6 × 5 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 180.

But the password needs to be changed. So, the number of ways

new password can be made = 180 − 1 = 179.

2. Find the number of ways in which 5 people A, B, C, D, and E can be

seated at a round table such that A and B must always sit together.

Solution:

If we wish to seat A and B together in all arrangements, we can

consider these two as one unit, along with 3 others. So effectively we’ve
to arrange 4 people in a circle, the number of ways being (4-1)! or
3 × 2 × 1 = 6.

Thus, there are 6 arrangement such that A and B must always sit
together.

3. Find the number of different permutations of the letters of the word

MISSISSIPPI.

Solution:

The word MISSISSIPPI has 11 letters. If the letters were all

different there would have been 11! Different permutations. But
MISSISSIPPI has 4 S’s, 4 I’s, and 2 P’s that are alike. So, the answer is:

38
 11! 11 × 10 × 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
𝑃= =
4! 4! 2! 4×3×2×1×4×3×2×1×2×1

= 11 × 10 × 9 × 7 × 5 = 34 650.

4. If a coin is tossed six times, how many different outcomes consisting of

4 heads and 2 tails are there?

Solution:

Again, we have permutations with similar elements called

distinguishable permutations.

We are looking for permutations for the letters HHHHTT.

The answer is:
6! 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 6 × 5 30
𝑃= = = = = 15.
4! 2! 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 × 2 × 1 2 2

5. A stock broker wants to assign 20 new clients equally to 4 of its

salespeople. In how many different ways can this be done?

Solution:

This means that each sales person gets 5 clients. The problem can
be thought of as an ordered partitions problem. In that case, using the
formula we get,

20!
𝑃= = 11 732 745 024.
5! 5! 5! 5!

Since you already finish studying the activity above, let us check
your understanding by solving the different problems below.

Activity 21: Independent Practice

Answer the problems below. Show your solutions to the other

sheets.

1. ANNALIZA want to change her password which is ANNALIZA6 but

with the same letters and number. In how many ways she can do that?

2. Find the number of ways in which 6 people L, M, N, O, P and Q can

be seated at a round table such that L and M must always sit together.

3. Find the number of different permutations of the letters of the word

TALLAHASSEE.

39
4. If a coin is tossed 10 times, how many different outcomes of 7 heads
and 3 tails are possible?

5. There are 12 people in a dinner gathering. In how many ways can

the host (one of the 12) arrange his guests around a dining table if
they can sit on any of the chairs?

I hope you answered all of the item! To check your score!

If your score is:

5 You are doing great! You may proceed to the next

activity, the Assessment (Activity 8) after reviewing the
missed items.
3-4 You are doing well but you need to proceed to the next
activities/exercises of this lesson.
1-2 You need to study harder. Ask help from your teacher or
parent or friend. Study the next examples and answer the
next activities.

What I Have Learned

Activity 22: Do I Really Learned?

Answer the following problems solving. Show your solution to the

separate sheet.

1. In how many distinguishable ways can the letters in

MASSACHUSETTS be written?

2. From the word MATHEMATICS, in how many distinguishable

permutations can be formed?

3. In how many ways can 10 persons sit at a round table for a group
discussions?

4. How many distinguishable permutations exist for the letters in the

word COMMITTEE?

5. Determine the number of ways such that 5 men and 5 women be

seated at a round table if no two women are seated together.

40
 What I Can Do
Activity 23: Finish Me!

Solve the following problems. Show your solution to the separate

sheet.

1. How many distinguishable permutations are possible with all the

letters of the word OCCASION?

2. In a playground, 3 sisters and 8 other girls are playing together. In a

particular game, how many ways can all the girls be seated in a
circular order so that the three sisters are not seated together?

3. Find the number of different ways that a family of 7 can be seated

around a circular table with 7 chairs?

4. Determine the number of ways of selecting one or more letters from the
letters ZZZZZZZ?

5. How many ways can 8 people sit in a circle?

Assessment
Activity 24: Guided Assessment

Answer each problem completely: Show your solution on the

sheets provided.

1. In how many different ways can 4 nickels, 3 dimes, and 2 quarters be

arranged in a row?

Solution:
Assuming that all nickels are similar, all dimes are similar, and all
quarters are similar, we have permutations with similar elements.
Therefore, the answer is:

41
9! 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 9 × 8 × 7 × 5 2 520
𝑃= = = =
4! 3! 2! 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 × 3 × 2 × 1 × 2 × 1 2 2

= 1 260

41
2. In how many ways can three people be made to sit at a round table?

Solution:

𝑃 = (𝑛 − 𝑟)! = (3 − 1)! = 2! = 2 × 1 = 2.

Thus, there are 2 ways that three people made to sit around the
table.

3. At a dinner party, 6 men and 6 women sit at a round table. In how many
ways can they sit if men and women is alternate?

Solution
The number of ways that a men and women sit at a round table
alternately is:

𝑃 = (6 − 1) × 6! = 5! × 6! = 120 × 720 = 86 400.

4. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters in

MIAMI.

Solution:

MIAMI has 5 letters of which M and I are each repeated 2 times.

So, the number of distinguishable permutations is:

5! 5×4×3×2×1 5×4×3×2×1
𝑃= = = = 5×3×2×1
2! × 2! 2×1×2×1 4

= 30

5. A shopping mall has a straight row of 5 flagpoles at its main entrance

plaza. It has 3 identical green flags and 2 identical yellow flags. How
many distinct arrangements of flags on the flagpoles are possible?

Solution:

The problem can be thought of as distinct permutations of the

letters GGGYY; that is arrangements of 5 letters, where 3 letters are
similar, and the remaining 2 letters are similar.

5! 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 5 × 4 20
𝑃= = = = = 10.
3! 2! 3 × 2 × 1 × 2 × 1 2 2

42
 Just to provide a little more insight into the solution, we list all 10
distinct permutations:

GGGYY GYGGY YGGGY YYGGG

GGYGY GYGYG YGGYG
GGYYG GYYGG YGYGY

Good job! You are done studying with activity 17. And now, kindly
answer the activity below to inspect if you comprehend what you are
reading.

Activity 25: Independent Assessment

Solve the following problems below. Show your solutions to the

other sheets.

1. A couple wants to plant some shrubs around a circular walkway. They

have seven different shrubs. How many different ways can the shrubs
be planted?

43
2. Find the number of ways in which 5 people (Ian, Mark, Carlo, Lowie,
and Joel) can be seated at a round table, such that Carlo and Lowie
must not sit together.

3. Find the number of different permutations of the letters of the word

BILLIONAIRE.

4. Find the distinguishable permutations of the letters in the word

BALLISTICS.

5. Find the distinguishable permutations of the letters in the word

KANAKANAK.

Do you need more activity? But before you proceed to the next
activity, kindly check your score! If your score is:

5 You are doing great! You may proceed to the Post-test

after reviewing the missed items.
3-4 You are doing well but you need to proceed to the next
activities/exercises of this lesson.
1-2 You need to study harder. Ask help from your teacher or
parent or friend. Study the next examples and answer the
next activities.

43
 Additional Activities
Answer the following problems below. Show your solutions.

1. Jessie wants to plant 10 plants along the sidewalk in her front yard.
She has 3 rose bushes, 4 daffodils, and 3 lilies. In how many
distinguishable ways can the plants be arranged?

2. The signal mast of a ship can raise nine flags at one time (3 red, 2
blue, and 3 green). How many different signals can be communicated
by the placement of these nine flags?

3. How many different ways can 3 red, 2 yellow and 2 blue bulbs be
arranged in a string of Christmas tree lights with 9 sockets?

4. How many different ways can 7 different items be arranged on a

circular tray?

5. Find the distinguishable permutations of the letters in the word

CORPORATION.

SUMMARY/SYNTHESIS/GENERALIZATION

This module was about solving problems involving permutations

and its application in real-life situations. Every lesson under this module
was provided to you with opportunities to solve differentiated problems
using the fundamental counting principle, the permutations formula and
the distinguishable and circular permutations formula. In addition, you
were given a chance to know how to solve problems involving
permutations that apply the skills and knowledge to formulate
conclusions and making decisions. Your understanding of this lesson as
long as the concepts of Mathematics that you already learned will help
you understand the next topic, combinations.

44
 Assessment

Post-Test

Find out how much you already know about this module. Choose
the letter that you think is correct and write your answer on the space
provided before the number. Take note of the items that you were not
able to answer correctly and look for the right answer as you go through
this module.

___1. In a town fiesta dancing competition with 12 contestants, in how

many ways can the organizer arrange the first three dancers?
A. 132 B. 990 C. 1320 D. 1716

___2. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters of

the word EDUCATED.
A. 1680 B. 10 080 C. 20 160 D. 40 320

___3. How many different 3-digit numbers can be formed from the
digits 1,2,3,5,6,7 if repetition of digits is not allowed?
A. 120 B. 360 C.720 D.840

___4. Find the number of distinguishable permutations of the letters of

the word PASS.
A. 4 B. 12 C. 36 D. 144

___5. Which of the following expressions represents the number of

distinguishable permutations of the letters of the word
HAPPINESS?
𝟗! 𝟗! 𝟗!
A. 9! B. C. D.
𝟐! 𝟓!𝟐! 𝟐!𝟐!

___6. Six athletes will participate in a gymnastics competition. In how

many ways can they win first, second, and third places, if there
are no ties?
A. 110 B. 120 C. 210 D. 150

___7. Ms. Dela Cruz wants to produce different sets of test questions
for her essay test. If she plans to do this by putting together 3 out
of 5 questions she prepared, how many different sets of
questions could she construct?
A. 10 B. 20 C. 60 D. 80

45
___8. In the recently conducted SEA Games, there are 11 contenders
in a swimming events. How many ways can the gold, the silver,
and the bronze medals be won?
A. 856 B. 878 C. 950 D. 990

___9. In how many ways can 8 people be seated around a circular

table if two of them insist on sitting beside each other?
A. 360 B. 720 C. 1440 D. 5040

___10. Lydia, together with her five friends want to arrange themselves
around a round table. How many ways can they do it?
A. 720 B. 120 C. 60 D. 30

___11. Determine the different ways can 6 potted plants be arranged in

a row?
A. 210 B. 540 C. 550 D. 720

___12. How many different 4-digit even numbers can be formed from
the digits 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 9 if no repetition of digits is allowed?
A. 1 680 B. 840 C. 420 D. 120

___13. In how many different ways can 5 different-colored horses be

positioned in a carousel?
A. 24 B. 120 C. 720 D. 800

___14. In a room, there are 10 chairs in a row. In how many ways can 5
students be seated in consecutive chairs?
A. 120 B. 720 C. 25 600 D. 30 240

___15. In how many ways can 4 people be seated around a circular

table?
A. 2 B. 6 C. 12 D. 24

46