CE A91

Probability and Statistics for Civil Engineering Applications

COUNTING TECHNIQUES

Prepared by:
Engr. Kenny B. Cantila

Counting Techniques
Objectives:
To be able to familiarize, understand and apply various ways of
counting all possible number of outcomes.
To develop critical thinking skills in solving complicated counting
problems

Definition 1: The set of all possible outcomes of a statistical

experiment is called the sample space and is represented by the
symbol S.

Definition 2: An event is a collection of individual outcomes. In

other words, it is a subset of sample space.
Definition 3: The complement of an event A with respect to S is the
subset of all elements of S that are not in A. We denote the
complement, of A by the symbol A'.

Counting Sample Points

Theorem 1
If an operation can be performed in n1 ways, and if for each of
these ways a second operation can be performed in n2 ways,
then the two operation can be performed in n1 n2 ways.

Example 1.1: How many sample

points are there in throwing a
pair of dice?

(1,1) (1,2) (1,3) (1,4) (1,5) (1,6)

(2,1) (2,2) (2,3) (2,4) (2,5) (2,6)

Solution:

(3,1) (3,2) (3,3) (3,4) (3,5) (3,6)

n1 n2 = 6 6 = 36 ways

(4,1) (4,2) (4,3) (4,4) (4,5) (4,6)

(5,1) (5,2) (5,3) (5,4) (5,5) (5,6)
(6,1) (6,2) (6,3) (6,4) (6,5) (6,6)

Example 1.2: If there are seven doors providing access to a building,

in how many ways can a person enter a building by one door and
leave by a different door?

Solution: n1 n2 = 7 6 = 42 ways

Example 1.3: A developer of a new subdivision offers prospective home

buyers a choice of Tudor, rustic, colonial, and traditional exterior styling
in one-storey, two-storey, and three-storey floor plans. In how many
different ways can a buyer order one of these homes?

RUSTIC

TUDOR

ONE-STOREY

Solution:

COLONIAL

TWO-STOREY

TRADITIONAL

THREE-STOREY

n1 n2 = 4 3 = 12 ways

Theorem 2: If an operation can be performed in n1 ways, and if for

each of these operation can be performed in n2 ways, and for each
of the first two a third operation can be performed in n3 ways,
and so forth, the sequence of k operations can be performed in
n1 n2 nk ways.

Example 2.1 Sam is going to assemble a computer by himself. He

has the choice of ordering chips from two brands, a hard drive
from four, memory from three, and accessory bundle from five
local stores. How many different ways can he order the parts?
Solution:
Let

n1 = types of brand
=2
n2 = types of hard drive
=4
n3 = types of memory
=3
n4 = types accessory bundle = 5
n1 n2 n3 n4 = 2 4 3 5 = 120

Definition 4: Permutation is an arrangement where order is

important.
Theorem 3: The number of permutation of n objects is n!

Example 3.1
How many permutations can
be made from the letters a, b, c
and d?
Solution: n!=4!=24

abcd

bacd

cabd

dabc

abdc

badc

cadb

dacb

acbd

bcad

cbad

dbac

acdb

bcda

cbda

dbca

adbc

bdac

cdab

dcab

adcb

bdca

cdba

dcba

Theorem 4: The number of permutation of n distinct object taken

r at a time is:
n!
nPr =
nr !

Example 4.1 How many permutations can be made from the

letters a, b, c and d taken 2 at a time?
n!
nPr =
nr !
4!
4P2 =
42 !
4 3 2!
=
2!
= 12

ab

ba

ca

da

ac

bc

cb

db

ad

bd

cd

dc

Definition 5: Combination is an arrangement where order is not

important.
Theorem 5: The number of combination of n objects taken r at a
time is given by:
n!
nCr =
r! n r !
Example 4.1 How many combinations can be made from the
letters a, b, c and d taken 2 at a time?

nCr =

n!
4!
= 4C2 =
=6
r! n r !
2! 4 2 !

ab

bc

ac

bd

ad

cd

Theorem 6: The number of distinct permutation of n things of

which n1 is one of a kind, n2 of a second kindnk of a kth kind is

n!
P=
n1 ! n2 ! nk !
Example 6.1 How many different numbers can be formed from all
the digits of 656?
Solution:

k1 = 2 (for number 6)
k 2 = 1 (for number 5)
n!
3!
P=
=
=3
k1 ! k 2 ! 2! 1!

566

656

665

Example 6.2 How many different letter arrangements can be formed

from the word concrete?
Solution:

k1 = 2 (for letter c)
k 2 = 2 (for letter e)
k 3 = 1 (for letter n)
k 4 = 1 (for letter o)
k 5 = 1 (for letter r)
k 6 = 1 (for letter t)

P=

n!
k1 ! k 2 ! k 3 ! k 4 ! k 5 ! k 6 !

8!
P=
2! 2! 1! 1! 1! 1!
P = 10,080

Theorem 7: The number of ways of partitioning a set of n objects

into r cells with 1 elements in the first cell, 2 elements in the
second, and so forth, is
n
n!
=
n1 , n2 , , nk
n1 ! n2 ! nk !

Example 7.1 In how many ways can 7 CE students are assigned to

one triple and two double hotel rooms during a conference?
Solution:
n = 7 (total # of CE students)
k1 = 3( students assigned in triple room)
k 2 = 2 (students assigned in double room)
k 3 = 2 (students assigned in another double room)
n
n!
=
n1 , n2 , , nk
n1 ! n2 ! nk !
7
7!
=
= 210
3 2 2
3! 2! 2!

Theorem 8: The number of arrangements that can be made in a

circle is (n-1)!
Example 8.1 How many permutations of the letters a,b, c, and d
arranged in circle?

Solution:
N= n1 !
N= 41 !
N = 3!
N=6

In how many different ways can the letters of the word 'LEADING'
be arranged in such a way that the vowels always come together?
Solution:
1

EAI

n = 3! 5! = 720 ways

MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS

Out of 7 consonants and 4 vowels, how many words of 3

consonants and 2 vowels can be formed?

Consonants
B

Vowels
H

Solution: Apply Theorem 5 and Theorem 1.

For consonants:

n!
7!
N1 =
=
= 35
n r ! r! 3! 4!

For vowels:

n!
4!
N2 =
=
=6
n r ! r! 2! 2!

N = N1 N2 = 35 6 = 210

In how many different ways can 5 girls and 5 boys form a circle
such that the boys and the girls alternate?

Solution: Apply Theorem 8 and Theorem 2.

G5

B1

G1
B2

B5

N = N1 N2 = 2! 5 4! = 240

G2

G4

B4

G3

B3

A question paper has two parts P and Q, each containing 10

questions. If a student needs to choose 8 from part P and 4 from
part Q, in how many ways can he do that?
Solution: Apply Theorem 4 and Theorem 1.

For part P:

n!
10!
N1 =
=
= 45
n r ! r! 2! 8!

For part Q

n!
10!
N2 =
=
= 210
n r ! r! 6! 4!

N = N1 N2 = 45 210 = 9,450

In how many different ways can the letters of the word 'DETAIL'
be arranged such that the vowels must occupy only the odd
positions?
A

Solution: Apply Theorem 3 and Theorem 1.

For consonants in even positions:
For vowels in odd positions

N1 = 3! = 6

N2 = 3! = 6

N = N1 N2 = 6 6 = 36

How many arrangements can be made out of the letters of the

word 'ENGINEERING' ?

Solution: Apply Theorem 6

n = number of letters = 11
k1 = number of letter E = 3
k 2 = number of letter G = 2
k 3 = number of letter I = 2
k 4 = number of letter N = 3
k 5 = number of letter R = 1

N=

11!
n1 ! n2 ! nk !

11!
N=
3! 2! 2! 3! 1!
N = 277,200

A coin is tossed 3 times. Find out the number of possible

outcomes.
H

H
H

H
T

N = {HHH, HHT, HTH, HTT, THH, THT, TTH, TTT}

Solution: Apply Theorem 2

N = n1 n2 n3 = 2 2 2 = 8 ways

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?
2

Solution: Apply Theorem 5

n!
nPr =
nr !
5!
5P2 =
52 !
5P2 = 20

There are 5 yellow, 4 green and 3 black balls in a bag. All the 12
balls are drawn one by one and arranged in a row. Find out the
number of different arrangements possible.

Solution: Apply Theorem 6

n1 = number of yellow balls = 5
n2 = number of green balls = 4
n1 = number of black balls = 3
n = total number of balls = 12

n!
P=
n1 ! n2 ! nk !
12!
P=
5! 4! 3!
P = 27,720

25 buses are running between two places P and Q. In how many

ways can a person go from P to Q and return by a different bus?

Solution: Apply Theorem 1

N = n1 n2 = 25 24 = 600

There are 6 persons in an office. A group consisting of 3 persons

has to be formed. In how many ways can the group be formed?

Solution: Apply Theorem 5

nCr =

n!
r! n r !

6C3 =

6!
3! 6 3 !

How many triangles can be formed by joining the vertices of an

octagon?
Solution: Apply Theorem 5

nCr =

n!
r! n r !

8C3 =

8!
3! 8 3 !

8C3 = 56

In how many ways can 10 books be arranged on a shelf such that

a particular pair of books should always be together?

Solution: Apply Theorem 4 and Theorem 1

N1 = 2! = 2

N2 = 9! = 362,880
N1 N2 = 725,760

In how many ways can 10 books be arranged on a shelf such that

a particular pair of books will never be together?

Solution: Apply Theorem 4 and Theorem 1

N1 = 9!

N2 = 8
N1 N2 = 9! 8

From a group of 7 men and 6 women, five persons are to be

selected to form a committee so that at least 3 men are there on
the committee. In how many ways can it be done?
Solution: Apply Theorem 5 and Theorem 1
7
N=
3

6
7
+
2
4

6
7
+
1
5

6
0

N = (7C3 )(6C2 ) + (7C4 )(6C1 )+(7C5 )(6C0 )

N = 35(15)+35(6)+21(1)
N = 756

In a group of 6 boys and 4 girls, four children are to be selected. In

how many different ways can they be selected such that at least
one boy should be there?
Solution: Apply Theorem 5 and Theorem 1
6
N=
1

4
6
+
3
2

4
6
+
2
3

4
6
+
1
4

4
0

N = (6C1 )(4C3 ) + (6C2 )(4C2 )+(6C3 )(4C1 )+(6C4 )(4C0 )

N = 6(4)+15(6)+20(4)+15(1)
N = 209

In how many ways a committee, consisting of 5 men and 6 women

can be formed from 8 men and 10 women?

Solution: Apply Theorem 5 and Theorem 1

For

Men:

For Women:

n!
8!
N1 =
=
= 56
n r ! r! 3! 5!
n!
10!
N2 =
=
= 210
n r ! r! 4! 6!

N1 N2 = 11,760

In how many ways can a group of 5 men and 2 women be made

out of a total of 7 men and 3 women?

Solution: Apply Theorem 5 and Theorem 1

For

Men:

For Women:

n!
7!
N1 =
=
= 21
n r ! r! 2! 5!
n!
3!
N2 =
=
=3
n r ! r! 1! 2!

N1 N2 = 63

How many 6 digit telephone numbers can be formed if each

number starts with 35 and no digit appears more than once?

Solution: Apply Theorem 4

nPr =

n!
nr !

8!
8P4 =
84 !
8P4 = 1,680

READING ASSIGNMENT
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