Combinatorics

Counting
An Overview

• Introductory Example Example

• What to Count As I was going to St. Ives

Lists I met a man with seven wives
Permutations Every wife had seven sacks
Combinations.
Every sack had seven cats
• The Basic Principle Every cat had seven kits

• Counting Formulas
Kits, cats, sacks, wives
How many were going to St. Ives?
• The Binomial Theorem.

• Partitions

• Solutions

Lists
Can be Counted Easily

Order Pairs: (x, y) = (w, z) iff w = x and z = y.

Ans: None.
Ordered Triples: (x, y, z) = (u, v, w) iff
How many were going the other ways?
u = x, v = y, and w = z.

7 Wives. Lists of Length r (AKA Order r-tuples):

7 × 7 = 49 sacks. (x1 , · · · , xr ) = (y1 , · · · , ys )

49 × 7 = 343 cats. iff s = r and yi = xi for i = 1, · · · , r.

343 × 7 = 2401 kits. Example: License Plates. A license plate has the
form LM N xyz, where
Total = 2800.
L, M, N ∈ {A, B, · · · , Z},
x, y, z ∈ {0, 1, · · · , 9}

and, so, is a list of length six.

 Basic Principle of Combinatorics
The Multiplication Principle Permutations

For Two: If there are m choices for x and then n A permutation of length r is a list
choices for y, then there are m × n choices for (x1 , · · · , xr ) with distinct components (no
(x, y). repetition); that is, xi 6= xj when i 6= j.

For Several: If there are ni choices for xi , Examples. (1, 2, 3) is a permutation of three
i = 1, · · · , r, then there are elements; (1, 2, 1) is a list, but not a permutation
n1 × n 2 × · · · × n r
Counting Formulas. From n objects,
choices for (x1 , · · · , xr ).
nr = n × · · · × n (r factors)
3
Example. There are 7 = 7 × 7 × 7 = 343 choices
for (wife, sack, cat). lists of length r and

Example. There are (n)r := n × (n − 1) × · · · × (n − r + 1)

263 × 103 = 17, 576, 000 permutations of length r may be formed.

license plates. Of these Examples: There are 103 = 1000 three digit
26 × 25 × 24 × 10 × 9 × 8 = 11, 232, 000 numbers of which (10)3 = 10 × 9 × 8 = 720 list
distinct digits.
have distinct letters and digits (no repetition).

Some Notation. Recall

(n)r = n × (n − 1) × · · · × (n − r + 1) Examples

positive integers n and r.

Example. A group of 9 people may choose officers
(P,VP,S,T) in (9)4 = 3024 ways.
Factorials: When r = n, write

n! = (n)n = n × (n − 1) × · · · × 2 × 1. Example. 7 books may be arranged in 7! = 5040

ways.
Conventions: (n)0 = 1 and 0! = 1.
If there are 4 math books and 3 science books,
Notes a). The book only considers r = n. then there are

b). (n)r = 0 if r > n. 2 × 4! × 3! = 288

c). If r < n, then arrangements in which the math books are

together and the science books are together.
n! = (n)r (n − r)!
 Combinations
Combinations Formula
A combination of size r is a set {x1 , · · · , xr }
of r distinct elements. Two combinations are From n ≥ 1 objects,
equal if they have the same elements, possibly  
n 1
written in different orders. = (n)r
r r!
Example. {1, 2, 3} = {3, 2, 1}, but combinations of size r ≤ n may be formed.
(1, 2, 3) 6= (3, 2, 1).
Example.
Example. How many committees of size 4 may be  
9 1
chosen from 9 people? Choose officers in two = (9)4 = 126.
4 4!
steps:
Choose a committee in ?? ways. Proof: Replace 9 and 4 by n and r in the
example.
Choose officers from the committee in 4!
ways. Example: Bridge. A bridge hand is a combination
From the Basic Principle of n = 13 cards drawn from a standard deck of
N = 52. There are
(9)4 = 4!×??.  
52
= 635, 013, 559, 600
So, 13
(9)4
?? = = 126. such hands.
4!

Binomial Coefficients
Alternatively:
 
n n! Binomial Identities
= .
r r!(n − r)!
Recall:
The Binomial Theorem: For all n  
−∞ < x, y < ∞, n
X n r n−r
(x + y) = x y .
n   r=0
r
n
X n r n−r
(x + y) = x y .
r=0
r
Examples -a). Setting x = y = 1,
Example. When n = 3, Xn  
n
= 2n .
(x + y)3 = x3 + 3x2 y + 3xy 2 + y 3 . r=0
r

Proof. If b). Letting x = −1 and y = 1,

(x + y)n = (x + y) × · · · × (x + y) Xn  
n
(−1)r = 0
is expanded, then xr y n−r will appear as often as r=0
r
x can be chosen from r of the n factors; i.e., in for n ≥ 1.
 
n
r
ways.
 Partitions
Partitions Defintions
AKA Divisions
An Example Let Z be a set with n elements. If r ≥ 2 is an
integer,then an ordered partition of Z into r
Q: How many distinct arrangements can be subsets is a list
formed from the letters
(Z1 , · · · , Zr )
MISSISSIPPI?
where Z1 , · · · , Zr are mutually exclusive subsets
A: There are 11 letters which may be arranged in
of Z whose union is Z; that is,
11! = 39, 916, 800 (∗)
Zi ∩ Zj = ∅ if i 6= j
ways, but this leads to double counting. If the 4
and
“S”s are permuted, then nothing is changed.
Z1 ∪ · · · ∪ Zr = Z.
Similarly, for the 4 “I”s and 2 “P”s. So, (*) the
each configuration of letters Let
ni = #Zi ,
4! × 4! × 2! = 1, 152
the number of elements in Zi . Then
times and the answer is
n1 , · · · , n r ≥ 0
11!
= 34, 650. and
4! × 4! × 2!
n1 + · · · + nr = n.

The Partitions Formula

Let n, r, and n1 , · · · , nr be integers for which

Example. In the “MISSISSIPPI” Example, 11
n, r ≥ 1,
positions,
Z = {1, 2, · · · , 11} n1 , · · · , nr ≥ 0,

were partitioned into four groups of sizes n1 + · · · + nr = n.

n1 = 4 “I”s If Z is a set of n elements, then there are

n2 = 1 “M”s
 
n n!
:=
n3 = 2 “P”s n1 , · · · , n r n1 ! × · · · × n r !
n4 = 4 “S”s ways to partition Z into r subsets (Z1 , · · · , Zr )
for which #Zi = ni for i = 1, · · · , r.
Example. In a bridge game, a deck of 52 cards is
partitioned into four hands of size 13 each, one for Example.  
each of South, West, North, and East. 11
= 34, 650.
4, 1, 2, 4

Def. Called multinomial coefficients

 The Number of Solutions
Continued
The Number of Solutions
Second Warm Up Example. Suppose n = 8 and
If n and r are positive integers, how many integer r = 4. Represent solutions by o and ” + ” by |.
solutions to the equations For example,
ooo|oo||ooo
n1 , · · · , n r ≥ 0
means
n1 + · · · + n r = n
n1 = 3,
are there?
n2 = 2,
First Warm Up Example. How many n3 = 0,
arrangements from a A’s and b B’s–for example, n4 = 3.
ABAAB)? There are
    Note: Only r − 1 = 3 |’s are needed.
a+b a+b
=
a b There are as many solutions as there are ways to
such, since an arrangement is determined by the a arrange o and |. By the last example, there are
places occupied by A.
   
8+3 11
= = 165
3 3
solutions.

A General Formula
Combinatorics
If n and r are positive integers, then there are Summary

n+r−1
 
n+r−1

= • Lists, permuatations, and combinations.
r−1 n
integer solutios to • The Basic Principle

n1 , · · · , n r ≥ 0 • Counting Formulas
n1 + · · · + nr = n.
Lists nr
If n ≥ r, then there are
Permuations (n)r

n−1

Combinations nr


r−1
n


solutions with Partitions n1 ,··· ,nr

ni ≥ 1 Solutions n+r−1


r−1
for i = 1, · · · , r.