Discrete Math Quiz: Permutations And Combinations

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Permutations And CombinationsQuestion 1 of 12

A license plate consists of 3 letters followed by 3 digits. How many license plates can be formed if no letter or digit can be repeated within the plate, and the plate cannot start with the letter O or end with the digit 0?

25 \times 25 \times 24 \times 9 \times 9 \times 8 = 972,000

25 \times 25 \times 24 \times 9 \times 8 \times 7 = 756,000

25 \times 24 \times 23 \times 9 \times 8 \times 7 = 696,600

25 \times 25 \times 23 \times 9 \times 8 \times 7 = 725,400

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Discrete Math Quiz

Discrete Math Quiz: Permutations And Combinations

Practice Permutations And Combinations in Discrete Math with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Permutations And Combinations, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for Discrete Math.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

$25 \times 25 \times 24 \times 9 \times 9 \times 8 = 972,000$
$25 \times 25 \times 24 \times 9 \times 8 \times 7 = 756,000$
$25 \times 24 \times 23 \times 9 \times 8 \times 7 = 696,600$ (correct answer)
$25 \times 25 \times 23 \times 9 \times 8 \times 7 = 725,400$

Explanation: First letter: 25 choices (26 letters minus O). Second letter: 24 choices (can't repeat first letter). Third letter: 23 choices (can't repeat first two). First digit: 9 choices (0-9 minus 0 since can't end with 0, but this is wrong reasoning). Let me reconsider: Last digit can't be 0, so 9 choices (1-9). First digit: 9 choices (0-9 minus the last digit). Second digit: 8 choices (0-9 minus first and last digits). Actually: Last digit: 9 choices (1-9). First digit: 9 choices (0-9 except last digit). Middle digit: 8 choices. Total:

25 \times 24 \times 23 \times 9 \times 8 \times 7 = 696,600

. Other choices make errors in handling the non-repetition constraint across letters and digits.

Question 2

A school has 20 students: 8 seniors, 7 juniors, and 5 sophomores. A committee of 6 students is formed such that it includes students from exactly 2 of the 3 grade levels. How many such committees are possible?

$\binom{8}{1}\binom{7}{5} + \binom{8}{2}\binom{7}{4} + \binom{8}{3}\binom{7}{3} + \binom{8}{4}\binom{7}{2} + \binom{8}{5}\binom{7}{1} + \binom{8}{1}\binom{5}{5} + \binom{8}{2}\binom{5}{4} + \binom{8}{3}\binom{5}{3} + \binom{8}{4}\binom{5}{2} + \binom{8}{5}\binom{5}{1} + \binom{7}{1}\binom{5}{5} + \binom{7}{2}\binom{5}{4} + \binom{7}{3}\binom{5}{3} + \binom{7}{4}\binom{5}{2} + \binom{7}{5}\binom{5}{1}$
$\sum_{i=1}^{6}\binom{8}{i}\binom{7}{6-i} + \sum_{j=1}^{5}\binom{8}{j}\binom{5}{6-j} + \sum_{k=1}^{5}\binom{7}{k}\binom{5}{6-k}$ where terms with invalid binomial coefficients are omitted (correct answer)
$\binom{15}{6} + \binom{13}{6} + \binom{12}{6} - 3\binom{20}{6}$
$\binom{15}{6} + \binom{13}{6} + \binom{12}{6}$

Explanation: We need exactly 2 grade levels represented. Case 1: Seniors and Juniors only. We need at least 1 senior and at least 1 junior, totaling 6 students. This is

\sum_{i=1}^{6}\binom{8}{i}\binom{7}{6-i}

where

6-i \leq 7

and

6-i \geq 1

, so

i

ranges appropriately. Case 2: Seniors and Sophomores only. Similarly

\sum_{j=1}^{5}\binom{8}{j}\binom{5}{6-j}

where

6-j \leq 5

, so

j \geq 1

. Case 3: Juniors and Sophomores only.

\sum_{k=1}^{5}\binom{7}{k}\binom{5}{6-k}

where

6-k \leq 5

. Choice B correctly represents this with the caveat about invalid coefficients. Choice A explicitly lists many terms but may have errors. Choice C attempts inclusion-exclusion but incorrectly applies it. Choice D counts committees from pairs of grade levels but doesn't ensure both levels are represented.

Question 3

A student must select 5 courses from 4 mathematics courses, 3 science courses, and 5 humanities courses. If the selection must include at least 2 mathematics courses and at most 2 science courses, how many different selections are possible?

$\binom{4}{2}\binom{8}{3} + \binom{4}{3}\binom{8}{2} + \binom{4}{4}\binom{8}{1}$
$\binom{4}{2}\binom{3}{0}\binom{5}{3} + \binom{4}{2}\binom{3}{1}\binom{5}{2} + \binom{4}{2}\binom{3}{2}\binom{5}{1} + \binom{4}{3}\binom{3}{0}\binom{5}{2} + \binom{4}{3}\binom{3}{1}\binom{5}{1} + \binom{4}{3}\binom{3}{2}\binom{5}{0}$
$\sum_{i=2}^{4}\sum_{j=0}^{2}\binom{4}{i}\binom{3}{j}\binom{5}{5-i-j}$ where $5-i-j \geq 0$ (correct answer)
$\binom{4}{2}\binom{7}{3} + \binom{4}{3}\binom{7}{2} + \binom{4}{4}\binom{7}{1}$

Explanation: We need at least 2 math courses (so 2, 3, or 4) and at most 2 science courses (so 0, 1, or 2). For each valid combination (i math, j science), we need 5-i-j humanities courses. The constraint

5-i-j \geq 0

ensures we don't need negative humanities courses. Also,

5-i-j \leq 5

is automatically satisfied. Valid combinations: (2,0,3), (2,1,2), (2,2,1), (3,0,2), (3,1,1), (3,2,0), (4,0,1), (4,1,0). The summation in choice C captures all these cases. Choice A incorrectly groups science and humanities together. Choice B explicitly lists all cases (which equals choice C) but is unnecessarily verbose. Choice D also incorrectly groups science and humanities courses.

Question 4

A committee of 6 people is to be selected from 8 men and 7 women. In how many ways can this be done if the committee must have more men than women, and among the selected people, the oldest man and oldest woman must both be included?

$\binom{7}{3} \cdot \binom{6}{2} + \binom{7}{4} \cdot \binom{6}{1}$ (correct answer)
$\binom{7}{2} \cdot \binom{6}{3} + \binom{7}{3} \cdot \binom{6}{2} + \binom{7}{4} \cdot \binom{6}{1}$
$\binom{7}{3} \cdot \binom{6}{1} + \binom{7}{2} \cdot \binom{6}{2}$
$\binom{8}{4} \cdot \binom{7}{2} + \binom{8}{5} \cdot \binom{7}{1}$

Explanation: Since the oldest man and oldest woman must be included, we need to select 4 more people from the remaining 7 men and 6 women. For the total committee to have more men than women, we need either (4 men, 2 women) or (5 men, 1 woman) total. Case 1: Total (4M, 2W) means selecting 3 more men and 1 more woman:

\binom{7}{3} \cdot \binom{6}{1}

. Case 2: Total (5M, 1W) means selecting 4 more men and 0 more women:

\binom{7}{4} \cdot \binom{6}{0} = \binom{7}{4}

. However, this gives us only 5 people total, not 6. Let me reconsider: we actually need (4M, 2W) gives us

\binom{7}{2} \cdot \binom{6}{1}

, and (5M, 1W) is impossible with 6 total people. The answer is

\binom{7}{2} \cdot \binom{6}{1} + \binom{7}{3} \cdot \binom{6}{0}

which simplifies to choice A.

Question 5

A password consists of 4 distinct letters followed by 3 distinct digits. If the letters must include at least one vowel (A, E, I, O, U) and the digits must include at least one prime digit (2, 3, 5, 7), how many such passwords are possible?

$P(26,4) \cdot P(10,3) - P(21,4) \cdot P(10,3) - P(26,4) \cdot P(6,3) + P(21,4) \cdot P(6,3)$ (correct answer)
$P(26,4) \cdot P(10,3) - P(21,4) \cdot P(10,3) - P(26,4) \cdot P(7,3) + P(21,4) \cdot P(7,3)$
$[P(26,4) - P(21,4)] \cdot [P(10,3) - P(6,3)]$
$[P(26,4) - P(21,4)] \cdot [P(10,3) - P(7,3)]$

Explanation: Use inclusion-exclusion principle. Total passwords:

P(26,4) \cdot P(10,3)

. Subtract passwords with no vowels:

P(21,4) \cdot P(10,3)

. Subtract passwords with no prime digits:

P(26,4) \cdot P(6,3)

(non-prime digits: 0,1,4,6,8,9). Add back passwords with neither vowels nor prime digits:

P(21,4) \cdot P(6,3)

. This gives the inclusion-exclusion formula in choice A. Choice B incorrectly uses P(7,3) instead of P(6,3) for non-prime digits. Choice C incorrectly assumes independence of constraints. Choice D uses wrong count of non-prime digits.

Question 6

A committee of 8 people must be formed from 12 men and 10 women. If the committee must have at least 3 men and at least 2 women, and exactly one of the men must be designated as chair, how many different committees can be formed?

$8 \cdot \binom{11}{2} \cdot \binom{10}{6} + 8 \cdot \binom{11}{3} \cdot \binom{10}{4} + 8 \cdot \binom{11}{4} \cdot \binom{10}{3} + 8 \cdot \binom{11}{5} \cdot \binom{10}{2}$
$12 \cdot \left[\binom{11}{2} \cdot \binom{10}{5} + \binom{11}{3} \cdot \binom{10}{4} + \binom{11}{4} \cdot \binom{10}{3} + \binom{11}{5} \cdot \binom{10}{2}\right]$ (correct answer)
$\binom{12}{3} \cdot \binom{10}{2} \cdot \binom{17}{3} + \binom{12}{4} \cdot \binom{10}{3} \cdot \binom{15}{1} + \binom{12}{5} \cdot \binom{10}{2} \cdot \binom{14}{1}$
$12 \cdot \binom{21}{7} - 12 \cdot \left[\binom{10}{7} + \binom{10}{6} \cdot \binom{11}{1} + \binom{12}{7}\right]$

Explanation: First, choose 1 man from 12 to be chair (12 ways). Then form the remaining committee of 7 people from the remaining 11 men and 10 women, with constraints. Since the chair is already chosen, we need at least 2 more men and at least 2 women. The valid distributions are: (3M,4W), (4M,3W), (5M,2W), (2M,5W). This gives us

12 \cdot [\binom{11}{2}\binom{10}{5} + \binom{11}{3}\binom{10}{4} + \binom{11}{4}\binom{10}{3} + \binom{11}{5}\binom{10}{2}]

. Choice A incorrectly uses 8 instead of 12 for chair selection. Choice C uses invalid combinatorial reasoning. Choice D uses inclusion-exclusion incorrectly.

Question 7

A password must contain exactly 8 characters chosen from 26 lowercase letters and 10 digits. If the password must start with a letter, end with a digit, and contain at least one of each type of character, how many valid passwords are possible?

$26 \times 10 \times 36^6 - 26 \times 25^6 - 26 \times 9 \times 10^5$
$26 \times 10 \times 36^6 - 26 \times 25^6 - 26 \times 9^6$
$26 \times 10 \times 36^6 - 26 \times 25^5 \times 10 - 26 \times 9 \times 10^4$
$26 \times 10 \times 36^6 - 26 \times 25^5 \times 10 - 26 \times 9 \times 10^5$ (correct answer)

Explanation: When you encounter counting problems with multiple restrictions, use the inclusion-exclusion principle: count all possibilities, then subtract the "bad" cases that violate your constraints. Here, you need passwords with exactly 8 characters where position 1 is a letter, position 8 is a digit, and both character types appear at least once. Start by counting all passwords meeting the positional constraints:

26 \times 10 \times 36^6

(letter first, digit last, any of 36 characters in the middle 6 positions). However, this includes invalid passwords that contain only letters or only digits in positions 2-7. You must subtract these cases. For passwords with only letters in the middle positions: the first position has 26 choices, the last position has 10 choices, and the middle 6 positions each have 25 choices (can't use the same digit that's in position 8, but this reasoning is flawed - actually you need

26 \times 25^5 \times 10

since positions 2-7 have 25 letter choices each, not 26). For passwords with only digits in the middle positions:

26 \times 9 \times 10^5

(first position: 26 letters, positions 2-7: 9 digit choices each since we can't repeat the digit in position 8, last position: 10 digits, but we need to account for position 8 having 10 choices independently, giving us

26 \times 9^5 \times 10

... wait, this is getting complex). Let me recalculate: passwords with only letters in middle positions:

26 \times 25^5 \times 10

. Passwords with only digits in middle positions:

26 \times 9 \times 10^5

. Choice A incorrectly uses

25^6

instead of

25^5 \times 10

and has the wrong second subtraction term. Choice B uses

9^6

incorrectly. Choice C has

10^4

instead of

10^5

in the final term. Remember: in inclusion-exclusion problems, carefully track which positions have which constraints when calculating each forbidden case.

Question 8

A bookshelf has space for exactly 10 books. There are 4 identical mathematics books, 3 identical physics books, and 3 identical chemistry books available. In how many ways can the bookshelf be completely filled?

4,200 (correct answer)
2,520
1,260
840

Explanation: We need to select books to fill 10 spots. Let

m

p

c

be the number of math, physics, and chemistry books used, where

m + p + c = 10

0 \leq m \leq 4

0 \leq p \leq 3

0 \leq c \leq 3

. Valid combinations: (4,3,3). Only this works since

4+3+3=10

. For this combination, arrangements =

\frac{10!}{4! \times 3! \times 3!} = \frac{3,628,800}{24 \times 6 \times 6} = \frac{3,628,800}{864} = 4,200

. Choice B uses wrong denominator calculation, C assumes fewer total books, and D miscounts the factorial division.

Question 9

How many ways are there to arrange the letters in BOOKKEEPER such that all K's appear before all E's, and all E's appear before all P's?

$\frac{10!}{2! \cdot 3! \cdot 2! \cdot 2!} \cdot \frac{1}{2! \cdot 3! \cdot 2!}$ (correct answer)
$\frac{10!}{2! \cdot 3! \cdot 2! \cdot 2!}$
$\frac{10!}{2! \cdot 2! \cdot 2!} \cdot \frac{1}{3!}$
$\frac{10!}{2! \cdot 3! \cdot 2! \cdot 2!} \cdot \frac{1}{7!}$

Explanation: BOOKKEEPER has 10 letters: B(1), O(2), K(2), E(3), P(2), R(1). Without restrictions, arrangements =

\frac{10!}{2! \cdot 3! \cdot 2! \cdot 2!}

. For the ordering constraint K's before E's before P's: among all arrangements, only

\frac{1}{2! \cdot 3! \cdot 2!}

satisfy the relative ordering of the 2K's, 3E's, and 2P's. This is because there are

2! \cdot 3! \cdot 2!

ways to arrange these 7 letters among themselves, and only 1 of these arrangements satisfies our constraint. Choice B ignores the ordering constraint. Choice C incorrectly handles the constraint calculation. Choice D uses an irrelevant

7!

factor.

Question 10

A box contains 15 balls: 6 red, 5 blue, and 4 green. In how many ways can 8 balls be selected such that there are at least 2 balls of each color?

$\binom{6}{2}\binom{5}{2}\binom{4}{2} + \binom{6}{2}\binom{5}{2}\binom{4}{3} + \binom{6}{2}\binom{5}{3}\binom{4}{2} + \binom{6}{3}\binom{5}{2}\binom{4}{2} + \binom{6}{2}\binom{5}{4}\binom{4}{2}$
$\binom{6}{2}\binom{5}{2}\binom{4}{4} + \binom{6}{3}\binom{5}{2}\binom{4}{3} + \binom{6}{2}\binom{5}{3}\binom{4}{3} + \binom{6}{4}\binom{5}{2}\binom{4}{2}$
$\binom{6}{2}\binom{5}{2}\binom{4}{4} + \binom{6}{3}\binom{5}{3}\binom{4}{2} + \binom{6}{4}\binom{5}{2}\binom{4}{2} + \binom{6}{2}\binom{5}{4}\binom{4}{2}$
$\sum_{r=2}^{4}\sum_{b=2}^{4}\binom{6}{r}\binom{5}{b}\binom{4}{8-r-b}$ where $2 \leq 8-r-b \leq 4$ (correct answer)

Explanation: We need at least 2 of each color and exactly 8 balls total. Let r, b, g be the number of red, blue, green balls selected. Constraints:

r \geq 2, b \geq 2, g \geq 2

r + b + g = 8

r \leq 6, b \leq 5, g \leq 4

. Since

g = 8 - r - b

, we need

2 \leq 8 - r - b \leq 4

, which gives

4 \leq r + b \leq 6

. Valid combinations: (2,2,4), (2,3,3), (2,4,2), (3,2,3), (3,3,2), (4,2,2). Choice D captures this with the summation notation and constraint

2 \leq 8-r-b \leq 4

. Choice A lists some valid cases but misses (2,4,2). Choice B has invalid cases like (2,2,4) written as

\binom{4}{4}

which suggests 4 green balls. Choice C also has errors in the combinations listed.

Question 11

In how many ways can the letters of the word STATISTICS be arranged such that the two T's are not adjacent?

43,200
50,400 (correct answer)
36,000
64,800

Explanation: STATISTICS has 10 letters: S(3), T(2), A(1), I(2), C(1). Total arrangements:

\frac{10!}{3! \times 2! \times 2!} = \frac{3,628,800}{24} = 151,200

. Arrangements with T's adjacent: treat TT as one unit, giving 9 objects with S(3), TT(1), A(1), I(2), C(1). This gives

\frac{9!}{3! \times 2!} = \frac{362,880}{12} = 30,240

. Non-adjacent T's:

151,200 - 30,240 = 50,400

. Choice A miscounts total arrangements, C uses wrong factorial division, and D forgets to subtract adjacent cases.

Question 12

A committee of 5 people must be formed from a group of 8 men and 6 women. If the committee must have at least 2 men and at least 2 women, how many different committees are possible?

1,386 (correct answer)
1,260
1,470
1,512

Explanation: We need committees with at least 2 men and at least 2 women. The valid compositions are: (2M, 3W), (3M, 2W). For (2M, 3W):

\binom{8}{2} \times \binom{6}{3} = 28 \times 20 = 560

. For (3M, 2W):

\binom{8}{3} \times \binom{6}{2} = 56 \times 15 = 840

. Total:

560 + 840 = 1,386

. Choice B uses incorrect binomial coefficients, C assumes 4M+1W is valid, and D counts total arrangements without restrictions on gender composition.