CS173: Discrete Mathematical Structures Fall 2006

Homework 10
Due: 8am, November 21, 2006
November 26, 2006 Cinda Heeren
Problem 1
(10 points) How many solutions are there to the equation
x
1
+x
2
+x
3
+x
4
+x
5
+x
6
= 29
where x
i
, i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, is a nonnegative integer such that
a) x
i
> 1 for i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6?
Solution: We require each x
i
2. This uses up 12 of the 29 total required, so the problem is
the same as nding the number of solutions to x

1
+x

2
+x

3
+x

4
+x

5
+x

6
= 17 with each x

i
a nonnegative integer. The number of solutions is therefore C(6 + 17 1, 17) = C(22, 17) =
26334.
Rubric: 3 points. 2 points for incorrect solution with a reasonable explanation. 1 point for
a weak reasoning.
b) x
1
1, x
2
2, x
3
3, x
4
4, x
5
5, and x
6
6?
Solution: The restrictions use up 21 of the total, leaving a free total of 8. Therefore the
answer is C(6 + 8 1, 8) = C(13, 8) = 1287.
Rubric: 2 points. 1 point for incorrect solution with a reasonable explanation.
c) x
1
5?
Solution: The number of solutions without restriction is C(6 + 29 1, 29) = C(34, 29) =
278256. The number of solution violating the restriction by having x
1
6 is C(6+231, 23) =
C(28, 23) = 98280. Therefore, the solution is 278256 98280 = 179976.
Rubric: 2 points. 1 point for incorrect solution with a reasonable explanation.
d) x
1
< 8 and x
2
> 8?
Solution: The number of solutions with x
2
9 (as required) but without the restriction on
x
1
is C(6 + 20 1, 20) = C(25, 20) = 53130. The number of solution violating the additional
restriction by having x
1
8 is C(6 + 12 1, 12) = C(17, 12) = 6188. Therefore the answer is
53130 6188 = 46942.
Rubric: 3 points. 2 points for incorrect solution with a reasonable explanation. 1 point for
a weak explanation.
1
Problem 2
a) (3 points) How many dierent strings can be made from the letters in MISSISSIPPI,
using all the letters?
Solution:
11!
4!4!2!
= 34650
Rubric: 2 points for incorrect solution with a reasonable explanation. 1 point without
explanation.
b) (4 points) How many dierent strings can be made from the letters in MISSISSIPPI,
using all the letters and having no consecutive Ss?
Solution: C(8, 4)
7!
4!2!
. Use the objects and bars model. We use M, I, I, I, I, P, P as
7 bars, and throw the four Ss into spots in between those bars. We have 8 such places, so
C(8,4) are all possible positions to place four Ss. Then, permute the 7 bars. We get
7!
4!2!
,
as repeated permutations are eliminated.
Rubric: 3 points for a slight error. 2 points for incorrect solution with a reasonable explana-
tion. 1 point for incorrect solution with weak explanation or no explanation.
c) (3 points) How many ways are there to travel in xyzw space from the origin (0, 0, 0, 0) to the
point (4, 3, 5, 4) by taking steps one unit in the positive x, positive y, positive z, or positive
w direction?
Solution: We can describe any such travel in a unique way by a sequence of 4 xs, 3 ys, 5
zs, and 4 ws. There are
16!
4!3!5!4!
such sequences.
Rubric: 2 points for a slight error. 1 point for incorrect solution with weak explanation or
no explanation.
Problem 3
(10 points) What is the probability of these events when we randomly select a permutation of the
26 lowercase letters of the English alphabet?
a) a is the rst letter of the permutation and z is the last letter.
Solution:
24!
26!
=
1
650
Rubric: 2 points.
b) y and z are not next to each other in the permutation. (Hint: it might be easier to rst think
of the probability of y and z being next to each other.)
Solution: If y and z are together, we treat them as one letter and therefore get 25! per-
mutations. Since y and z can switch positions, the probability of y and z being together is
225!
26!
. Therefore, the probability of not being next to each other is 1
1
13
=
12
13
Rubric: 3 points
c) a and z are separated by at least 23 letters in the permutation. (Hint: list all possible
congurations and then gure out how many permutations each conguration can have. For
example, a
24
z is a possible conguration)
2
Solution: There are six ways that this can happen: a
24
z, z
24
a, z
23
a, a
23
z, z
23
a,
a
23
z. For each conguration, there are 24 free positions and therefore we have 24!
permutations each. The probability is
624!
26!
=
3
325
.
Rubric: 3 points
d) z is somewhere in between a and b in the permutation.
Solution: There are three possible ways to position a, b, and z. That is, z proceeding a
and b, z in the middle, and z following a and b. They are equally likely and therefore the
probability is
1
3
.
Rubric: 2 points
Problem 4
(10 points) Assume that the probability a child is a boy is 0.51 and that the sexes of children born
into a family are independent. What is the probability that a family of ve children has
a) exactly three boys?
Solution: three boys two girls. This is C(5, 3)0.51
3
0.49
2
Rubric: 3 points
b) at least one boy?
Solution: This is 1 minus the probability of all girls. 1 0.49
5
Rubric: 2 points
c) at least one girl?
Solution: 1 0.51
5
Rubric: 2 points
d) all children of the same sex?
Solution: 0.51
5
+ 0.49
5
Rubric: 3 points
Problem 5
(10 points) What is the expected sum of the numbers that appear when three fair dice are rolled?
(Hint: Note that the expectation of a sum is the sum of the expectations.)
Solution: The expectation of a sum is the sum of expectations. Let X be the random variable
giving the value on the rst die, let Y be the random variable giving the value on the second die, and
let Z be the random variable giving the value on the third die. In order to compute the expectation
of X, Y , and Z, we can ignore what happens on the dice not under consideration. Looking just at
the rst die, then, we compute that the expectation of X is
1
1
6
+ 2
1
6
+ 3
1
6
+ 4
1
6
+ 5
1
6
+ 6
1
6
= 3.5
3
Similarly, E(Y ) = E(Z) = 3.5. Therefore, E(X +Y +Z) = E(X) +E(Y ) +E(Z) = 10.5
Rubric: Apparently, 10 points is too much... Anyway, 3 points for the expectation of the sum
being the sum of the expectation. 2 points for using a random variable, 3 points for calculating the
expected value of one die using the formula, and 2 points for the sum.
4