Permutations and Combinations

Understanding Permutation and Combination

Permutation or Combination?
1. Creating an access code for a computer site using any 8 alphabet letters
2. Determining how many different ways you can elect a Chairman and Co-Chairman of a committee if you have 10 people
to choose from
3. Voting to allow 10 new members to join a club when there are 25 that would like to join
4. Finding different ways to arrange a line-up for batters on a baseball team
5. Choosing 3 toppings for a pizza if there are 9 choices.

Finding Value:
06. 5! 07. 6! 08. 7P3 09. 7P4 10. 7P7 11. 7C3 12. 7C4 13. 7C2 14. 7C7 15. 7C6 16. 100C98

Permutation, Combination, and Probability Questions:

01. A club with ten members is to choose three officers: captain, co-captain, and secretary. How many ways can
those positions be filled?
(A) 210 (B) 720 (C) 300 (D) 260 (E) None of these
02. The company has ten members on its board of directors. In how many different ways can it elect a president,
vice-president, secretary and treasurer?
(A) 2100 (B) 420 (C) 5040 (D) 260 (E) None of these
03. For a segment of a radio show, a singer can play 4 songs. If there are 8 to select from, in how many ways can
the program for this segment be arranged?
(A) 210 (B) 1680 (C) 3000 (D) 260 (E) None of these
04. Suppose you are asked to list, in order or preference, the three best movies you have seen this year. If you
saw 10 movies during the year, in how many ways can the three best be chosen and ranked?
(A) 210 (B) 420 (C) 720 (D) 260 (E) None of these
05. In the Cox's Bazaar Air Race six planes are entered and there are no ties, in how many ways can the first
three finishers come in?
(A) 120 (B) 620 (C) 300 (D) 260 (E) None of these
06. In a production of Grease, eight actors are considered for the male roles of Danny, kenedy, and Marty. In how
many ways can the director cast the male roles?
(A) 710 (B) 336 (C) 300 (D) 260 (E) None of these
07. Seven bands have volunteered to perform at a benefit concert, but there is only enough time for four of the
bands to play. How many lineups are possible?
(A) 510 (B) 420 (C) 840 (D) 260 (E) None of these
08. In how many ways can the letters of the word EDUCATION be rearranged so that the relative position of the
vowels and consonants remain the same as in the word EDUCATION?
(A) 9!/4 (B) 9!/(4!×5!) (C) 4!×5! (D) 4!/5! (E) None of these
09. In how many ways can you sit 8 people on a bench if 3 of them must sit together?
(A) 720 (B) 2,160 (C) 2,400 (D) 4,320 (E) 40,320
10. In how many different ways can the letters of the word ‘MATHEMATICS’ be arranged so that the vowels always
come together?
(A) 10080 (B) 4989600 (C) 120960 (D) None of these
11. How many 3-digit numbers can be formed from the digits 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9, which are divisible by 5 and
none of the digits is repeated?
(A) 5 (B) 10 (C) 15 (D) 20 (E) None
12. In how many different ways can 6 people arrange themselves in a row of 6 seats if 2 people insist on sitting
in an end seat?
(A) 24 (B) 36 (C) 48 (D) 120 (E) 720
13. An election ballot asks voters to select three city commissioners from a group of six candidates. In how
Permutations and Combinations
many ways can this be done?
(A) 510 (B) 20 (C) 840 (D) 260 (E) None of these
14. A four-person committee is to be elected from an organization’s membership of 11 people. How many
different committees are possible?
(A) 510 (B) 200 (C) 840 (D) 330 (E) None of these

15. You are on your way to Hawaii (Aloha) and of 15 possible books your parents say you can only take
10. How many different collections of 10 books can you take?
(A) 5100 (B) 3003 (C) 8400 (D) 2600 (E) None of these
16. There are 12 standbys who hope to get on your flight to Hawaii, but only 6 seats are available on the plane.
How many different ways can the 6 people be selected?
(A) 924 (B) 810 (C) 840 (D) 260 (E) None of these
17. To win the small county lottery, one must correctly select 3 numbers from 30 numbers. The order in which
the selection is made does not matter. How many different selections are possible?
(A) 5100 (B) 3003 (C) 8400 (D) 4060 (E) None of these
18. A committee consists of 8 men and 4 women. In how many ways can sub-committee of 3 men and 1 woman
be chosen?
(A) 192 (B) 224 (C) 112 (D) 128 (E) None of these
19. There are 8 books on a shelf, of which 2 are paperbacks and 6 are hardbacks. How many possible selections
of 4 books from this shelf include at least 1 paperback book?
(A) 40 (B) 45 (C) 50 (D) 55 (E) 60

20. There are three different roads from Shahbag to Farmgate and 4 different roads from Farm Gate to Banani.
How many different routes are there from Shah Bag to Banani via Farm Gate?
(A) 4 (B) 3 (C) 12 (D) 7 (E) None of these
21. An ice cream parlor makes an ice cream using one of six different flavors of ice cream, one of three different flavor
of syrup, and one of four different toppings. What is the total number of different ice creams that this ice cream parlor
can make?
(B) 72 (B) 36 (C) 30 (D) 26 (E) None of these
22. How many ways can 4 prizes be given away to 3 boys, if each boy is eligible for all the prizes?
(C) 256 (B) 12 (C) 81 (D) 27 (E) None of these
23. There are 12 yes or no questions. How many ways can these be answered?
(A) 1024 (B) 2048 (C) 4096 (D) 144 (E) None of these
24. During a certain chess tournament, each of six players will play with every other player exactly once. Then,
how many different matches will be played during the tournament?
(A) 12 (B) 15 (C) 18 (D) 30 (E) 36
25. There are 5 people at a meeting. If each person shakes hands with each of the other once, how many
handshakes are exchanged?
(D) 10 (B) 11 (C) 15 (D) 12 (E) None of these
Identify the following as Permutations, Combinations or Counting Principle problems. ( No need to solve)
26. In a race in which six automobiles are entered and there are not ties, in how many ways can the first four
finishers come in?
27. The model of the car you are thinking of buying is available in nine different colors and three different styles
(hatchback, sedan, or station wagon). In how many ways can you order the car?
28. A book club offers a choice of 8 books from a list of 40. In how many ways can a member make a
collection?
29. A medical researcher needs 6 people to test the effectiveness of an experimental drug. If 13 people have
volunteered for the test, in how many ways can 6 people be selected?
30. From a club of 20 people, in how many ways can a group of three members be selected?
31. A popular brand of pen is available in three colors (red, green or blue) and four tips (bold, medium, fine or
micro). How many different choices of pens do you have with this brand?
Permutations and Combinations
32. A corporation has ten members on its board of directors. In how many ways can it elect a president, vice-
president, secretary and treasurer?
33. For a segment of a radio show, a disc jockey can play 7 songs. If there are 12 songs to select from, in how
many ways can the program for this segment be arranged?
34. How many different ways can a director select 4 actors from a group of 20 actors to attend a workshop on
performing in rock musicals?
35. From the 20 CD’s you bought this past year, you plan to take 3 with you on vacation. How many different
sets of three CD’s can you take?
36. Suppose you find 7 articles related to the topic of your research paper. In how many ways can you choose 5
articles to read?
37. You want to get a cell phone and you must decide on the right plan. If there are 10 different phones, 6
different calling plans and 3 different testing plans, how many different plans could you pick from if you can
choose one phone, one calling plan and one testing plan?

38. There are 8 job applicants sitting in a waiting room – 4 women and 4 men. Two of the applicants are selected
one after another at random. What is the probability that both will be women?
(A) ½ (B) 2/3 (C) ¼ (D) 3/14 (E) None of these
39. In a lottery, there are 10 prizes and 25 blanks. A lottery is drawn at random. What is the probability of
getting a prize?
(A) 2/7 (B) 5/7 (C) 1/5 (D) ½ (E) None of these
40. The probability of having a girl is identical to the probability of having a boy. In a family with three
children, what is the probability that all the children are of the same gender?
(A) 1 / 8 (B) 1/6 (C)1/3 (D) 1/5 (E) 1/4
41. A man is known to speak truth 3 out of 4 times. He throws a die and reports that it is a six. The probability
that it is actually six is
(A) 1/8 (B) 2/8 (C) 3/8 (D) ½ (E) None of these
42. Nine places of paper numbered consecutively from 1 to 9 are put into a box. If a piece of paper is drawn at
random from the box, what is the probability that it will have a number greater than 6?
(A) 1/9 (B) 1/3 (C) 2/9 (D) 5/9 (E) None of these
43. A jar contains 13 red marbles and 7 green marbles. The probability that a marble selected from the jar at
random will be green is ?
(A) 0.5 (B) 1.0 (C) 0.35 (D) 0.65 (E) All of these
44. In a box, there are 8 red, 7 blue and 6 green balls. One ball is picked up randomly. What is the probability
that it is neither red nor green?
(A) 1/3 (B) ¾ (C) 7/19 (D) 8/21 (E) 9
45. What is the probability that a two digit number selected at random will be a multiple of '3' and not a multiple
of '5'?
(A) 2/15 (B) 4/15 (C) 1/15 (D) 4/90 (E) None of these
46. When 4 dice are thrown, what is the probability that the same number appears on each of them?
(A) 1/36 (B) 1/18 (C) 1/126 (D) 1/15 (E) None of these
47. A number is randomly chosen from the first 100 positive integers. What is the probability that it is a multiple
of 3?
(A) 32/100 (B) 33/100 (C) 1/3 (D) 34/100 (E) 2/3
48. The probability is 1/2 that a coin will turn up heads on any given toss and the probability is 1/6 that a number
cube with faces numbered 1 to 6 will turn up any particular number. What is the probability of turning up a
heads and a 6?
(A) 1/36 (B) 1/12 (C) 1/6 (D) ¼ (E) 2/3
49. Four dice are rolled simultaneously. What is the number of possible outcomes in which at least one of the
die shows 6?
(A) 6!/ 4! (B) 625 (C) 671 (D) 1296 (E) None of these
50. What is the probability that a two digit number selected at random will be a multiple of '3' and not a
Permutations and Combinations
multiple of '5'?
(B) 2/15 (B) 4/15 (C) 1/15 (D) 4/15 (E) None
51. Two squares are chosen at random on a chessboard. What is the probability that they have a side in
common?
(C) 1/18 (B) 64/ 4032 (C) 63/64 (D) 1/19 (E) None of these
52. When 4 dice are thrown, what is the probability that the same number appears on each of them?
(D) 1/36 (B) 1/18 (C) 1/216 (D) 1/5 (E) None of these
1
53. The probability is that a certain coin will turn up heads on any given toss. If the coin is to be tossed three
times, what is the probability that on at least one of the tosses the coin will turn up tails?
(A) 1/8 (B) ½ (C) ¾ (D) 7/8 (E) 15/16
54. A dice is thrown at random. What is the probability of getting a number less than 5?
(A) 2/3 (B) 1/6 (C) ¾ (D) ½ (E) 1/5
55. In a deck of cards there are 52 cards numbered from 1 to 13. There are 4 cards of each number in the deck. If
you insert 12 more cards with the number 10 on them and you shuffle the deck really good, what is the
probability to pull out a card with a number 10 on it?
(A) ¼ (B) 4/17 (C) 5/29 (D) 4/13 (E) 1/3


Class Test on Motion
Time-12 min
Marks- 10

01. The speed of a motor boat itself is 20 km/h and the rate of flow of the river is 4 km/h. Moving with the
stream the boat went 120 km. What distance will the boat cover during the same time going against the
stream?
(A) 80 (B) 180 (C) 60 (D) 100 (E) 200
02. A motorist travels 90 miles at the rate of 20 mph. At what speed must the return trip be if he wishes to
average 80/3 mph for the entire trip?
(A) 20 mph (B) 6 5 / 3 mph (C) 40 mph (D) 30 mph (E) 130/3 mph
03. Bimal sprinted 100 meters in 10.61 seconds. Find his velocity in kilometers/hour, rounded to nearest
kilometer?
(A) 36 (B) 34 (C) 33 (D) 3 (E) None of these
04. A man travels a distance at a rate of 20 miles/hour & returns at the rate of 30 miles/hour. What is his
average speed?
(A) 24 (B) 25.5 (C) 25 (D) 26 (E) none of these
05. The mile meter of a car misses every eleventh mile being traveled After a certain time, the meter shows that
1251 miles were traveled How many miles were actually traveled?
(A) 1291 (B) 1325 (C) 1376 (D) 1421 (E) none of these
06. A person travels a distance of 60 km at a speed of 90 km/hr and then comes back at twice the speed The
total time he took is how many minutes?
(A) 40 (B) 60 (C) 40 (D) 45 (E) 50
07. A train covers the distance x between two cities in y hours, arriving 2 hours late What rate would permit the
train to arrive on schedule?
(A) x/(y-2) (B) x/y -2 (C) xy-2 (D) x/(y+2) (E) x/y+2
08. On a track for remote-controlled racing cars, racing car A completes the track in 55 seconds, while racing
car B completes it in 35 seconds. If they both start at the same time, after how many seconds will they be
side by side again?
(A) 275 (B) 325 (C) 385 (D) 425 (E) none of these
Permutations and Combinations
09. Robert is travelling on his cycle and has calculated to reach point A at 2 P.M. if he travels at 10 kmph, he
will reach there at 12 noon if he travels at 15 kmph. At what speed must he travel to reach A at 1 P.M.?
(A) 8 kmph (B) 11 kmph (C) 12 kmph (D) 14 kmph (E) None of these
10. A 1km long train traveling at a speed of 60km/hour enters a tunnel 1km of length. What time does the train
take to come fully out of the tunnel?
(A)1 min (B) 2 min (C) 30 min (D) 60 min (E) None of these