Solved Counting Problems - Batch 1

This batch covers fundamental counting principles like the Product Rule, Sum Rule,
Permutations, Combinations, and an introduction to Inclusion-Exclusion.

Question 1: Basic Product Rule (Password Creation)

Problem: How many different 4-character passwords can be created if the first character must
be an uppercase letter (A-Z), and the remaining three characters can be any digit (0-9)?
Repetition is allowed.

Concept Explained: This problem involves making a sequence of independent choices. The
Product Rule states that if a procedure can be broken down into a sequence of tasks, and the
number of ways to perform each task is independent of the others, then the total number of
ways to perform the procedure is the product of the number of ways to perform each task.

How to Break Down:

1. Determine the number of choices for the first character.

2. Determine the number of choices for the second character.

3. Determine the number of choices for the third character.

4. Determine the number of choices for the fourth character.

5. Multiply these numbers together.

Step-by-Step Solution:

• Choices for 1st character (uppercase letter): 26 (A-Z)

• Choices for 2nd character (digit): 10 (0-9)

• Choices for 3rd character (digit): 10 (0-9)

• Choices for 4th character (digit): 10 (0-9)

Using the Product Rule: Total passwords =

26×10×10×10=26×103=26,000Error! Filename not specified.

Solution: There are 26,000 different 4-character passwords.

Question 2: Basic Sum Rule (Meal Choices)

Problem: A restaurant offers a choice of 3 different appetizers, 5 different main courses, and 4
different desserts. If a customer wants to order either an appetizer or a dessert, how many
different single-item choices do they have?
Concept Explained: The Sum Rule (or Rule of Addition) is used when you have mutually
exclusive choices. If a task can be done in n1 ways OR n2 ways, and these ways cannot happen
at the same time, then the total number of ways is n1+n2. The keyword "or" is a strong
indicator.

How to Break Down:

1. Identify the number of choices for the first type of item (appetizers).

2. Identify the number of choices for the second type of item (desserts).

3. Since these choices are mutually exclusive (an item is either an appetizer or a dessert,
not both), add the numbers together.

Step-by-Step Solution:

• Choices for an appetizer: 3

• Choices for a dessert: 4

Using the Sum Rule: Total single-item choices = 3+4=7Error! Filename not specified.

Solution: The customer has 7 different single-item choices.

Question 3: Product Rule with No Repetition (Distinct Digit Numbers)

Problem: How many different 3-digit numbers can be formed using the digits {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} if no
digit can be repeated?

Concept Explained: This is a sequential choice problem (Product Rule), but with the added
constraint of "no repetition." This means that once a digit is chosen for a position, it's removed
from the available options for subsequent positions.

How to Break Down:

1. Determine choices for the first digit.

2. Determine choices for the second digit (fewer options due to no repetition).

3. Determine choices for the third digit (even fewer options).

4. Multiply these numbers.

Step-by-Step Solution:

• Choices for 1st digit: 5 (any of {1, 2, 3, 4, 5})

• Choices for 2nd digit: 4 (one digit has been used, so 5 - 1 = 4 remaining)
 • Choices for 3rd digit: 3 (two digits have been used, so 5 - 2 = 3 remaining)

Using the Product Rule: Total numbers = 5×4×3=60Error! Filename not specified.

Solution: There are 60 different 3-digit numbers with no repeated digits.

Question 4: Permutations (Arranging Items)

Problem: In how many ways can 6 distinct books be arranged on a shelf?

Concept Explained: A permutation is an arrangement of items where the order matters. When
arranging all n distinct items, the number of permutations is n! (n factorial). This is a special
case of the Product Rule where the number of choices decreases by one at each step until only
one choice remains.

How to Break Down:

1. Consider the number of choices for the first position on the shelf.

2. Consider the number of choices for the second position (one less).

3. Continue this pattern until the last position.

4. Multiply the choices.

Step-by-Step Solution:

• Choices for 1st position: 6 books

• Choices for 2nd position: 5 books

• Choices for 3rd position: 4 books

• Choices for 4th position: 3 books

• Choices for 5th position: 2 books

• Choices for 6th position: 1 book

Total arrangements = 6×5×4×3×2×1=6!=720Error! Filename not specified.

Solution: There are 720 ways to arrange 6 distinct books on a shelf.

Question 5: Combinations (Selecting a Group)

Problem: From a group of 10 students, how many different committees of 3 students can be
formed? (The order of students in a committee does not matter).
Concept Explained: A combination is a selection of items where the order does not matter. The
formula for choosing k items from a set of n distinct items is given by the binomial coefficient "n
choose k": C(n,k)=(kn)=k!(n−k)!n!Error! Filename not specified.

How to Break Down:

1. Identify the total number of items (n).

2. Identify the number of items to choose (k).

3. Apply the combination formula.

Step-by-Step Solution:

• Total students (n) = 10

• Students to choose for committee (k) = 3

Using the combination formula: C(10,3)=3!(10−3)!10!=3!7!10!=3×2×1×7!10×9×8×7!

=3×2×110×9×8=6720=120Error! Filename not specified.

Solution: 120 different committees of 3 students can be formed.

Question 6: Inclusion-Exclusion Principle (Two Sets)

Problem: In a class of 40 students, 25 like Math, and 20 like Science. If 10 students like both
Math and Science, how many students like Math or Science?

Concept Explained: The Inclusion-Exclusion Principle for two sets states that
∣A∪B∣=∣A∣+∣B∣−∣A∩B∣. This is used when counting elements in the union of non-mutually
exclusive sets to avoid double-counting the overlap.

How to Break Down:

1. Identify the size of each individual set.

2. Identify the size of the intersection (the overlap).

3. Apply the Inclusion-Exclusion formula.

Step-by-Step Solution:

• Let M be the set of students who like Math. ∣M∣=25.

• Let S be the set of students who like Science. ∣S∣=20.

• The number of students who like both (intersection) is ∣M∩S∣=10.

Using the Inclusion-Exclusion Principle: Number of students who like Math or Science =
∣M∪S∣=∣M∣+∣S∣−∣M∩S∣ ∣M∪S∣=25+20−10=45−10=35Error! Filename not specified.

Solution: 35 students like Math or Science.

Question 7: Product Rule with Cases (Numbers with Specific Properties)

Problem: How many 4-digit numbers are there such that the digits are all distinct, AND the
number is even?

Concept Explained: This problem combines the Product Rule with the "no repetition" constraint
and an "even" constraint. The "even" constraint affects the last digit, but the "distinct"
constraint affects all digits. When a constraint impacts multiple positions or has specific choices
(like the last digit being even), it's often best to handle those constrained positions first or break
into cases. Here, we'll handle the last digit first.

How to Break Down:

1. The number must be even, so the last digit must be {0, 2, 4, 6, 8}.

2. The first digit cannot be 0.

3. All digits must be distinct.

4. These conditions create a conflict if the last digit is 0 (since 0 can't be the first digit). So,
it's best to split into two mutually exclusive cases based on the last digit:

o Case 1: The last digit is 0.

o Case 2: The last digit is a non-zero even digit.

5. Use the Product Rule for each case.

6. Use the Sum Rule to combine the results of the cases.

Step-by-Step Solution: Total digits available: {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} (10 digits)

Case 1: The last digit is 0.

• 4th digit (Units): 1 choice (must be 0)

• 1st digit (Thousands): 9 choices (any digit except 0, and 0 is already used for the 4th
digit, so 9 remaining)

• 2nd digit (Hundreds): 8 choices (10 total - 2 used)

• 3rd digit (Tens): 7 choices (10 total - 3 used)

 • Numbers in Case 1 = 9×8×7×1=504Error! Filename not specified.

Case 2: The last digit is a non-zero even digit.

• 4th digit (Units): 4 choices ({2, 4, 6, 8})

• 1st digit (Thousands): 8 choices (cannot be 0, and one non-zero even digit is used for
the 4th digit, so 10 - 1 (used) - 1 (0) = 8 remaining)

• 2nd digit (Hundreds): 8 choices (10 total - 2 used)

• 3rd digit (Tens): 7 choices (10 total - 3 used)

• Numbers in Case 2 = 8×8×7×4=1792Error! Filename not specified.

Using the Sum Rule (Case 1 OR Case 2): Total even numbers = Numbers in Case 1 + Numbers in
Case 2 Total even numbers = 504+1792=2296Error! Filename not specified.

Solution: There are 2,296 such 4-digit numbers.

Question 8: Permutations with Identical Items

Problem: How many distinct permutations can be made from the letters of the word
"MISSISSIPPI"?

Concept Explained: When arranging items where some are identical, the formula for distinct
permutations is: n1!n2!…nk!n! where n is the total number of items, and n1,n2,…,nk are the
counts of each set of identical items.

How to Break Down:

1. Count the total number of letters.

2. Count the frequency of each unique letter.

3. Apply the formula.

Step-by-Step Solution:

• Total letters (n) = 11 (M-1, I-4, S-4, P-2)

• Count of 'M' (n1) = 1

• Count of 'I' (n2) = 4

• Count of 'S' (n3) = 4

• Count of 'P' (n4) = 2

Using the formula for permutations with identical items: Distinct permutations = 1!×4!×4!×2!11!
=1×24×24×239,916,800=115239,916,800=34,650Error! Filename not specified.

Solution: There are 34,650 distinct permutations of the letters in "MISSISSIPPI".

Question 9: Circular Permutations

Problem: In how many ways can 7 people be seated around a circular table?

Concept Explained: For circular permutations, if arrangements are considered the same if one
can be rotated to match another, then the number of distinct arrangements of n distinct items
in a circle is (n−1)!. This is because one person can be fixed in place, and the remaining (n−1)
people can be arranged relative to that fixed person.

How to Break Down:

1. Identify the number of distinct items (n).

2. Apply the circular permutation formula.

Step-by-Step Solution:

• Number of people (n) = 7

Using the circular permutation formula: Total arrangements = (7−1)!=6!

6!=6×5×4×3×2×1=720Error! Filename not specified.

Solution: There are 720 ways to seat 7 people around a circular table.

Question 10: Pigeonhole Principle (Simple Application)

Problem: A drawer contains 10 black socks and 10 white socks. If you are picking socks in the
dark, what is the minimum number of socks you must pull out to guarantee you have a
matching pair?

Concept Explained: The Pigeonhole Principle states that if you have more pigeons than
pigeonholes, then at least one pigeonhole must contain more than one pigeon.

• Pigeons: The items being distributed (socks picked).

• Pigeonholes: The categories or types of items (colors of socks).

How to Break Down:

1. Identify the "pigeonholes" (categories).

2. Identify what constitutes a "match" (more than one pigeon in a hole).

 3. Apply the principle: (Number of pigeonholes) + 1.

Step-by-Step Solution:

• Pigeonholes (colors of socks): Black, White. So, 2 pigeonholes.

• Pigeons (socks picked): We are picking socks.

• If you pick 1 sock, it could be black.

• If you pick 2 socks, they could be one black and one white (no match).

• If you pick 3 socks:

o The first two could be black and white.

o The third sock must be either black or white.

o If it's black, you have two black socks. If it's white, you have two white socks.

o In either case, you are guaranteed a matching pair.

Using the Pigeonhole Principle: Minimum socks = (Number of colors) + 1 =

2+1=3Error! Filename not specified.

Solution: You must pull out a minimum of 3 socks to guarantee a matching pair.

I hope this first batch is helpful! Please let me know when you're ready for the next set of
questions.