LESSON 8

COUNTING
Reminder: Before beginning this lesson remember to redo the
problems from Lesson 4 that you have marked off. Do not
unmark a question unless you get it correct.
Strategy 21
Writing a list
Sometimes the easiest way to count the number of possibilities is to
simply list them all. When doing this it is important that we have a
systematic way of forming our list. This will reduce the likelihood of
missing something, or listing something twice.
Try to answer the following question by writing a list. Do not check the
solution until you have attempted this question yourself.
LEVEL 5: COUNTING
1.
How many integers between 3000 and 4000 have digits that
are all different and that increase from left to right?
Solution
* Lets form a list:
3456
7
8
9
67
8
9
78
9
89
3567
8
9
78
9
89
678
9
89
789
There are 20 integers in this list.

Remarks:
(1) Notice that we only wrote down the necessary information
when forming our list. For example, the second entry was just written
7 instead of 3457. This will save a substantial amount of time.
(2) A clear and definite pattern was used in forming this list. In this case
the list was written in increasing order. This will minimize the risk of
duplicating or leaving out entries.
Counting Principle
The counting principle says that if one event is followed by a second
independent event, the number of possibilities is multiplied.
More generally, if E1, E2 ,...En are n independent events with
m1 , m2, ,mn possibilities, respectively, then event E1 followed by
event E2, followed by event E3 followed by event En has
m1 m2 mn possibilities.
Try to answer the following question by using the counting principle. Do
not check the solution until you have attempted this question yourself.
LEVEL 3: COUNTING
2.
How many integers between 9 and 300 have the tens digit
equal to 2, 3, or 4 and the units digit (ones digit) equal to 5 or
6?
Solution
* There are 2 possibilities for the ones digit (5 or 6). There are 3
possibilities for the tens digit (2, 3, or 4). There are 3 possibilities for the
hundreds digit (0, 1, or 2).
The counting principle says that we multiply the possibilities to get
(2)(3)(3) = 18.
Before we go on try to also solve this problem by writing a list.
Solution
Lets try to list the numbers in increasing order.
25
125
225
26
126
226

35
135
235
36
136
236
45
145
245
46
146
246
And thats it. We see that the answer is 18.

Permutations and Combinations

The factorial of a positive integer n, written n! Is the product of all
positive integers less than or equal to n.

n! = 1 *2*3...n
0! is defined to be 1, so that n!, is defined for all nonnegative integers n.
A permutation is just an arrangement of elements from a set. The
number of permutations of n things taken r at a time is nPr =
For example, the number of permutations of {1, 2, 3} taken 2 at a time is
These permutations are 12, 21, 13, 31, 23, and 32.
Note that on the SAT you do not need to know the permutation formula.
You can do this computation very quickly on your graphing calculator. To
compute 3 P 2 , type 3 into your calculator, then in the Math menu scroll
over to Prb and select nPr (or press 2). Then type 2 and press Enter. You
will get an answer of 6.
A combination is just a subset containing a specific number of the
elements of a particular set. The number of combinations of n things
taken r at a time is
For example, the number of
combinations of {1, 2, 3} taken 2 at a time is
. These
combinations are 12, 13, and 23.
Note that on the SAT you do not need to know the combination formula.
You can do this computation very quickly on your graphing calculator. To
compute
, type 3 into your calculator, then in the Math menu scroll

over to Prb and select nCr (or press 3). Then type 2 and press Enter. You
will get an answer of 3.
Note that 12 and 21 are different permutations, but the same
combination.
Example: Compute the number of permutations and combinations of
elements from {a, b, c, d} taken (a) 2 at a time, and (b) 4 at a time.
4 P 2= 4!/2! = 12, 4 C 2 = 4!/(2!2!) = 6,
4 P 4 = 4!/0! = 24, 4 C 4 = 4!/(4!0!) = 1
Notes:
(1) The permutations taken 2 at a time are ab, ba, ac, ca, ad, da,
bc, cb, bd, db, cd, and dc.
(2) The combinations taken 2 at a time are ab, ac, ad, bc, bd, and cd.
Now see if you can list all 24 permutations of {a, b, c, d} taken 4 at a
time. Note that all 24 of these permutations represent the same
combination.
Example: How many committees of 4 people can be formed from a
group of 9?
The order in which we choose the 4 people does not matter. Therefore
this is the combination 9 C 4 = 126.

LEVEL 1: COUNTING
3.
A menu lists 7 meals and 5 drinks. How many different mealdrink combinations are possible from this menu?
LEVEL 2: COUNTING
4.
Five different books are to be stacked in a pile. In how many
different orders can the books be placed on the stack
LEVEL 3: COUNTING
5.
A chemist is testing 9 different liquids. For each test, the
chemist chooses 4 of the liquids and mixes them together.
What is the least number of tests that must be done so that
every possible combination of liquids is tested?

6.
Nine different books are to be stacked in a pile. One book is
chosen for the bottom of the pile and another book is chosen
for the top of the pile. In how many different orders can the
remaining books be placed on the stack?
LEVEL 4: COUNTING
7. Any 2 points determine a line. If there are 18 points in a plane,
no 3 of which lie on the same line, how many lines are
determined by pairs of these 18 points?
8. Segments , , , and intersect at the labeled points
as shown in the figure above. Define two points as dependent
if they lie on the same segment in the figure. Of the labeled
points in the figure, how many pairs of dependent points are
there?
(A)none
(B)3
(C)6
(D)9
(E)12
9.
A wall is to be painted one color with a stripe of a different
color running through the middle. If 9 different colors are
available, how many color combinations are possible?
L EVEL 5: C OUNTING
10.
A six digit number is to be formed using each of the digits 1, 2,
3, 4, 5 and 6 exactly once. How many such numbers are there in
which the digits 2 and 3 are next to each other?
11. If seven cards, each of a different color are placed in a row so
that the green one is placed at an end, how many different
arrangements are possible?
12. How many positive integers less than 4,000 are multiples of 5
and are equal to 13 times an even integer?
Answers
1. 20
2. 18
3. 35
4. 120
5. 126
6. 5040

7. 153
8. E
9. 72
10. 240
11. 1440
12. 30
Full Solutions
5.
* Solution using combinations: We are counting the number of ways to
choose 4 of the 9 liquids. This is 9 C 4 = 126.
6.
* There are seven books left to stack. Therefore we see that there are
7! = (7)(6)(5)(4)(3)(2)(1) = 5040 ways to stack these books.
Calculator remark: You can compute 7! in your calculator as follows.
After typing 7, simply press MATH, scroll to PRB and then select ! (or
press 4)
7.
* Solution using combinations: We need to count the number of ways
to choose 2 points from 18. This is the combination 18 C 2 = 153.
8.
* Solution using strategy 21: Lets list the dependent pairs of points.
A,F A,B F,D B,C A,D A,C
E,F E,D F,B D,C E,B E,C
So there are twelve pairs of dependent points, choice (E).
Note: Notice that our list follows a definite pattern. Here we took one
long segment at a time, and listed first the two pairs of points adjoining
the two shorter segments, and then the pair adjoining the long segment.
* Solution using combinations: We can count the pairs without actually
making a list. There are 4 line segments, each with 3 points. So each
segment has 3 C 2 = 3 pairs of dependent points. So there are 43 = 12
pairs of dependent points all together, choice (E).
9.
* Solution using the counting principle: There are 9 ways to choose a
color for the wall. Once this color is chosen there are now 8 ways to
choose a color for the stripe. Therefore there are (9)(8) = 72 possibilities.
Solution using permutations: There are 9 P 2 = 72 ways to choose 2 colors
from 9, and place them in a specific order.
Important note: Dont let the word combinations in the problem itself

trick you. This is not a combination in the mathematical sense. If you

paint the wall red and the stripe blue, then this is a different choice from
painting the wall blue and the stripe red.
10.
* Solution using the counting principle: Lets start by counting the
number of ways we can place 2 and 3 with 2 to the left of 3. Well, 2 can
go in the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth position. So there are 5
ways.
Now, there are 5 additional ways we can place 2 and 3 with 2 to the
right of 3. So all together there are 5 + 5 = 10 ways to place 2 and 3 so
that these two numbers are next to each other. Once we place 2 and 3,
there are four places left. So now there are 4 ways to place 1, 3 ways to
place 4, 2 ways to place 5, and 1 way to place 6.
Using the counting principle, we see that the final answer is
(10)(4)(3)(2)(1) = 240.
11.
* Solution using the counting principle: There are 2 ways to place the
green card. Once the green card is placed, there are 6 ways to place the
next card, 5 ways to place the card after that, then 4, then 3, then 2, and
finally 1 way to place the last card. By the counting principle there are
(2)(6)(5)(4)(3)(2)(1) = 1440 different arrangements.
12.
* Note that 13 times an even integer is just a multiple of (13)(2) = 26. So
we are looking for positive integers less than 4,000 that are multiples of
both 5 and 26. Since 5 and 26 have no prime factors in common, we are
just looking for multiples of (5)(26) = 130 that are less than 4000. The
answer is just the integer part of
~ 30.7692. So we grid in 30.
OPTIONAL M ATERIAL
CHALLENGE QUESTION
1.
Let and be positive integers with
j < k . In how many ways
can k be written as a sum of j positive integers?
Solution
Lets begin with some simple examples. Lets try j = 2, k = 3. Then we
have 3 = 1 + 2 = 2 + 1. So there are 2 possibilities.
Now lets try j = 3, k = 5. We have
5 = 1 + 1 + 3 = 1 + 3 + 1 = 3 + 1 + 1 = 1 + 2 + 2 = 2 + 1 + 2 = 2 + 2 + 1.
Lets think about what we did here.
Think of 5 as 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1, and

notice that there are 4 plus signs. We can think of adding two adjacent
ones as choosing a plus sign. For example if we choose the first plus
sign we get 2 + 1 + 1 + 1. Its not enough to choose just 1 plus sign. We
need to choose 2 of them (in this example). If we choose the last two
plus signs we get 1 + 1 + 3. If we choose the first and last plus sign we
get 2 + 1 + 2, and so on. In other words we are counting the number of
ways to choose 2 of the plus signs from the 4 plus signs. Also, note that
the number of plus signs is 1 less than 5, and the number we need to
choose is 1 less than 3.
For general j and k with j k, we have k 1 plus signs, and we need to
choose j 1 of them. So the answer is k-1Cj-1 .