Permutations and Combinations

Combinatorics
Copyright
Standards
2006,
Test Barry
Practice Exam
Mabillard.

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1. Determine the middle term in the expansion of ( a 2b )

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2. In how many ways can 13 colleagues sit at two round conference tables if the first
table seats seven and the second table seats six?

3. Fred is having a party and invites 5 out of his 8 friends.

a) In how many ways can he choose which five people come to the party?

b) In how many ways can he choose the five guests if Daniel and Stephanie must either
attend together or not at all?

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4. How many seven digit numbers are possible using 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 if the middle
digit is even and repetitions are not allowed?

5. There are three flights from Edmonton to Winnipeg, and five flights from Winnipeg to
Toronto. How many different ways can a passenger fly from Edmonton to Toronto
through Winnipeg?

6. How many numbers between 100 and 1000 are odd? Repetitions are allowed.

7. Determine the sixth term in the expansion of x 2

x

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8. In how many ways can letters from the word EDITOR be arranged if vowels and
consonants alternate positions?

9. How many different arrangements of the word MATHEMATICS are there if the Ms
must stay together?

10. How many four digit numbers between 999 and 9999 are divisible by 5 and have
no repeated digits?

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11. In the expansion of ( x + y ) , what is the numerical coefficient of the term

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containing x3 y11

12. If there are six empty seats in a row at a movie, how many ways could four people fill
those seats?

13. Solve for n: n P2 = 56

14. The head of a committee needs to assign members to a sub-committee. The positions
of president, vice-president, and treasurer must be filled. In how many ways can Gary,
John, Kevin, Ned, Stacy, and Veronica be assigned to these three positions?

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15. Mark has 25 songs and wishes to put 14 of them on a mix CD.
a) In how many ways can the 14 songs be chosen?

b) The songs Corners and Predictions sound very similar. If Mark uses no more than
one of these songs on his mix CD, how many was can he choose the 14 songs for his CD?

16. Using the letters from the word PENCILS,

a) Determine the number of 5 letter arrangements

b) How many seven letter arrangements are possible if N must be the first letter and the
letters P & I must be together?

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17. There are 4 different paths from home to school, and 6 different paths from school to
the convenience store. How many ways can a student go from home to the convenience
store, stopping at the school along the way?

18. If there are three different cars and seven parking spaces, how many unique ways can
the cars be parked?

19. Solve for n algebraically: (n + 3)! = 20(n + 1) !

20. Given (3x + 2y)8, determine the middle term of the expansion.

21. A teacher wishes to have a picture taken with six team players. In how many ways
can they line up for the picture if the teacher must stand in the middle?

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22. How many four digit positive numbers less than 4670 can be formed using the digits
1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 if repetition is not allowed.

23. In how many ways can the letters in the word QUILT be arranged if the vowels and
consonants alternate?

24. Simplify:

C300
400 C100

400

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25. Using all the letters from the word SELECTIONS, how many distinguishable
arrangements can be made?

26. Given (8x6 7y3)9 , determine the position of the term containing x36

27. Cassie, Richard, and 7 of their friends attend a movie. In how many ways can they be
seated so that Cassie and Richard do not sit next to each other?

28. In how many ways can six people be seated at a round table?

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29. The fifth term in the expansion of a 4 contains a4 . Determine the value of n.
a

30. Solve for n in the equation

(n + 2)!
=8
(n + 1)!

31. How many terms are in the expansion of x3 +

x

32. In how many ways can six students sit in a row if two students, Jerry and Jennifer,
must sit together?

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33. Find and simplify the fourth term in the expansion of ( 2a 3b )

34. How many four letter arrangements can be made from the letters DDEFGH

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35. The term 1080a 2b3 occurs in the expansion of ( 2a 3b ) The value of n is:
n

36. There are 15 musicians to be separated into three groups of five. The players for
Group 1 are chosen first, then Group 2 and finally the Group 3. How many ways can this
be done?

37. A grad committee of 5 students is to be formed from a class of 21 students.

Danielle, Francis, and Hillary decide they do not want to be on the committee.
How many committees can be formed? (Express answer as factorials)

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38. The expression ( a 2 ) is expanded using descending powers of a. Determine the

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position of the term containing a2

39. If n Pr = 6720 and n Cr = 56 , then the value of r is

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