Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology

Thiruvananthapuram
Combinatorics, Tutorial-I
1. (a) How many permutations are there for the eight letters a, c, f, g, i, t, w, x?

(b) Consider the permutations in part (a). How many start with the letter t? How many
start with the letter t and end with the letter c?

2. In how many ways can the symbols a, b, c, d, e, e, e, e, e be arranged so that no e is adjacent

3. (a) How many arrangements are there of all the letters in SOCIOLOGICAL?

(b) In how many of the arrangements in part (a) are A and G adjacent?

(c) In how many of the arrangements in part (a) are all the vowels adjacent?

4. How many positive integers n can we form using the digits 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7 if we want n to
exceed 5,000,000?

5. Twelve clay targets (identical in shape) are arranged in four hanging columns, as shown in
Fig 1. There are four red targets in the first column, three white ones in the second column,
two green targets in the third column, and three blue ones in the fourth column. To join her
college drill team, Deborah must break all 12 of these targets (using her pistol and only 12
bullets) and in so doing must always break the existing target at the bottom of a column.
Under these conditions, in how many different orders can Deborah shoot down (and break)
the 12 targets?

R W G B

R W G B

R W B

6. (a) How many distinct paths are there from (-1, 2, 0) to (1, 3, 7) in Euclidean three-space

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 if each move is one of the following types?

(H) : (x, y, z) → (x + 1, y, z);

(b) How many such paths are there from (1, 0, 5) to (8, 1, 7)?

(c) Generalize the results in parts (a) and (b).

7. A sequence of letters of the form abcba, where the expression is unchanged upon reversing
order, is an example of a palindrome (of five letters). (a) If a letter may appear more than
twice, how many palindromes of five letters are there? of six letters? (b) Repeat part (a)
under the condition that no letter appears more than twice.

8. Determine the number of six-digit integers (no leading zeros) in which (a) no digit may be
repeated; (b) digits may be repeated. Answer parts (a) and (b) with the extra condition
that the six-digit integer is (i) even; (ii) divisible by 5; (iii) divisible by 4.

9. (a) In how many possible ways could a student answer a 10-question true-false test?

(b) In how many ways can the student answer the test in part (a) if it is possible to leave
a question unanswered in order to avoid an extra penalty for a wrong answer?

10. (a) In how many ways can seven people be arranged about a circular table?

(b) If two of the people insist on sitting next to each other, how many arrangements are
possible?

11. Sixteen people are to be seated at two circular tables, one of which seats 10 while the other
seats six. How many different seating arrangements are possible?

12. A committee of 15 - nine women and six men - is to be seated at a circular table (with 15
seats). In how many ways can the seats be assigned so that no two men are seated next to
each other?

13. A committee of 12 is to be selected from 10 men and 10 women. In how many ways can
the selection be carried out if (a) there are no restrictions? (b) there must be six men and
six women? (c) there must be an even number of women? (d) there must be more women
than men? (e) there must be at least eight men?

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14. In how many ways can a gambler draw five cards from a standard deck and get (a) a flush
(five cards of the same suit)? (b) four aces? (c) four of a kind? (d) three aces and two
jacks? (e) three aces and a pair? (f) a full house (three of a kind and a pair)? (g) three of
a kind? (h) two pairs?

15. A student is to answer seven out of 10 questions on an examination. In how many ways
can he make his selection if (a) there are no restrictions? (b) he must answer the first two
questions? (c) he must answer at least four of the first six questions?

16. How many arrangements of the letters in MISSISSIPPI have no consecutive S’s?

17. A gym coach must select 11 seniors to play on a football team. If he can make his selection
in 12,376 ways, how many seniors are eligible to play?

18. Consider the collection of all strings of length 10 made up from the alphabet 0, 1, 2, and 3.
How many of these strings have weight 3? How many have weight 4?

19. Determine the coefficient of

(a) xyz 2 in (x + y + z)4 .

(b) w 3 x2 yz 2 in (2w − x + 3y − 2z)8 .

20. In how many ways can 10 (identical) dimes be distributed among five children if (a) there
are no restrictions? (b) each child gets at least one dime? (c) the oldest child gets at least
two dimes?

21. A certain ice cream store has 31 flavours of ice cream available. In how many ways can we
order a dozen ice cream cones if (a) we do not want the same flavour more than once? (b)
a flavour may be ordered as many as 12 times? (c) a flavour may be ordered not more than
11 times?

22. Determine the number of integer solutions of

x1 + x2 + x3 + x4 = 32,

where

(a) x1 ≥ 0, 1 ≤ i ≤ 4

(b) x1 , x2 ≥ 5, x3 , x4 ≥ 7

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23. In how many ways can a teacher distribute eight chocolate donuts and seven jelly donuts
among three student helpers if each helper wants at least one donut of each kind?

24. Find the number of integer solutions of 2x + y + z = 20, x, y, z > 0

25. Carol is collecting money from her cousins to have a party for her aunt. If eight of the
cousins promise to give Rs:2, Rs:3, Rs:4 or Rs:5 each, and two others each give Rs:5 or
Rs:10, what is the probability that Carol will collect exactly Rs:40.

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