‭HSC Final Study: A1 Working with Combinatorics‬

‭(~9.3% historical contribution)‬

‭Key Areas addressed by this worksheet‬

‭Permutations and Combinations (4.3%)‬

‭● A ‭ n important topic area, examined in both the multiple choice and longer
‭answer sections of every new syllabus exam to date, contributing an average
‭of 4.3% per exam.
‭● ‭Examiners have shown a tendency to test this topic within the multiple-choice
‭section of the exam (most recently in 2023). Recent examples have been high
‭difficulty and feature in this revision set.
‭● ‭Longer answer questions are on the difficulty spectrum from challenging to
‭Thank you for subscribing to SmarterMaths Teacher Edition (Silver) in 2024.‬ ‭very difficult and we revise examples across this range.
‭● ‭The pigeonhole principle has been examined in each new syllabus exam,
‭ ey features of the Extension 1 “2024 HSC Comprehensive Revision Series”‬
K ‭including longer answer questions in 2022 and 2020, underlying our view of its
‭include:‬ ‭revision importance. Multiple questions focus on this topic area.
‭● ‭Geometry-themed questions have a greater revision presence after being
‭
● ‭ 18 hours of cherry-picked HSC revision questions by topic
~ ‭examined and poorly answered in 2022.
‭● ‭Targeted at motivated students aiming for a Band 5 or 6 result ‭● ‭Ordered combinations, unordered combinations and the sometimes devilish
‭● ‭Weighting toward more difficult examples ‭combinations in a circle (which caused major problems in 2023) are covered.
‭● ‭Mark allocations given to each topic generally reflect its historical (new
‭syllabus) HSC exam allocation. ‭The Binomial (5.0%)‬
‭● ‭Attempt, carefully review and annotate‬‭this revision‬‭set in Term 3 ‭● B ‭ inomial expansion questions have averaged a highly significant 5.0%
‭● ‭This question set provides the foundation of a concise and high-quality ‭contribution per new syllabus Ext1 exam since 2020.
‭revision resource for the run into the HSC exam. ‭● ‭2020 Ext1 14a‬‭tested‬‭this topic area with an extremely‬‭challenging 8-mark
‭● ‭This resource should be used to complement (not replace) the critical ‭question that reframed the possible level of difficulty of binomial proofs that are
‭final stretch preparation for every student – completing full practice ‭examinable and is a “must review” question.
‭papers in exam conditions. ‭● ‭In contrast, the 2021 exam served up a low-difficulty butterfly puff-cake that
‭was a num num gift.
‭ ur analysis on each topic, the common question types, past areas of difficulty‬
O ‭● ‭Finding specific coefficients or constant term in an expansion was last
‭and recent HSC trends all combine to create this revision set that ensures‬ ‭examined in 2022 and is reviewed (we note finding the “greatest coefficient” is
‭no longer examinable).
‭students cover a wide cross-section of the key areas.‬
‭● ‭Combinatorial proofs that receive specific mention in the syllabus are covered.
‭● ‭Full binomial expansions for small‬‭n‬‭are covered.
I‭MPORTANT:‬‭If students have been exposed to questions‬‭in these worksheets‬
‭during the year, we say great. Many top performing students attest to the‬
‭benefits of doing quality questions 2-3 times before the HSC. This type of‬
‭revision set is aimed at creating confidence and‬‭speed‬‭through the exam‬‭, with‬
‭cherry picked questions that cover all important elements of revision while‬
‭avoiding low percentage rabbit hole excursions.‬
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EXTENSION 1
3. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2020 HSC 8 MC

Out of 10 contestants, six are to be selected for the final round of a competition. Four of those six
Stage 6 will be placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

2024 Comprehensive Revision Series In how many ways can this process be carried out?
- COMBINATORICS
A.
A1 Working With Combinatorics (Y11)
Binomial Expansion
B.
Permutations and Combinations
Exam Equivalent Time: 90 minutes (based on allocation of 1.5 minutes per mark) C.

D.
Questions

1. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2014 HSC 3 MC

4. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2016 HSC 8 MC
What is the constant term in the binomial expansion of ?
A team of 11 students is to be formed from a group of 18 students. Among the 18 students are 3
students who are left-handed.
A.
What is the number of possible teams containing at least 1 student who is left-handed?
B. A.
B.
C.
C.
D.
D.

5. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2013 HSC 7 MC

2. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2017 HSC 9 MC
A family of eight is seated randomly around a circular table.
When expanded, which expression has a non-zero constant term?
What is the probability that the two youngest members of the family sit together?
A. A.

B. B.

C.
C.

D.
D.

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6. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2017 HSC 10 MC 8. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2022 HSC 7 MC

Three squares are chosen at random from the 3 × 3 grid below, and a cross is placed in each The diagram shows triangle with points chosen on each of the sides. On side , 3 points
chosen square. are chosen. On side , 4 points are chosen. On side , 5 points are chosen.

What is the probability that all three crosses lie in the same row, column or diagonal?

A.
How many triangles can be formed using the chosen points as vertices?
B. A. 60
B. 145
C.
C. 205
D. D. 220

7. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2021 HSC 10 MC 9. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2018 HSC 8 MC

The members of a club voted for a new president. There were 15 candidates for the position of Six men and six women are to be seated at a round table.
president and 3543 members voted. Each member voted for one candidate only. In how many different ways can they be seated if men and women alternate?
One candidate received more votes than anyone else and so became the new president. A.
What is the smallest number of votes the new president could have received? B.
A. 236 C.
B. 237
D.
C. 238
D. 239

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10. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2023 HSC 10 MC 14. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2019 13b

A group with 5 students and 3 teachers is to be arranged in a circle. In the expansion of , the coefficients of and are equal.

In how many ways can this be done if no more than 2 students can sit together? What is the value of ? (3 marks)

A.
B.
C. 15. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2022 HSC 11c
D.
Find the coefficients of and in the expansion of . (2 marks)

11. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2022 HSC 12b

16. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2023 HSC 12d
A sports association manages 13 junior teams. It decides to check the age of all players. Any team
that has more than 3 players above the age limit will be penalised.
It is known that for all integers such that . (Do NOT
A total of 41 players are found to be above the age limit. prove this.)
Will any team be penalised? Justify your answer. (2 marks) Find ONE possible set of values for and such that

(2 marks)

12. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2021 HSC 11b

Expand and simplify . (2 marks) 17. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 SM-Bank 1

Evaluate the value of and . (2 marks)

13. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2015 HSC 13b

Consider the binomial expansion

18. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 SM-Bank 11

A multiple choice quiz asks students 4 questions. Each question has three possible answers, a, b
or c, and students must attempt each question.
where , . . . are constants. How many students must do the quiz to ensure that at least two sets of answers are identical? (2

i. Find an expression for . (2 marks) marks)

ii. Find an expression for the term independent of . (2 marks)

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19. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2012 HSC 11e 23. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 SM-Bank 21

In how many ways can a committee of 3 men and 4 women be selected from a group of 8 men and Eight points , are arranged in order around a circle, as shown below.
10 women? (1 mark)

P1
P8 P2
20. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2007 HSC 5b

Mr and Mrs Roberts and their four children go to the theatre. They are randomly allocated six P7 P3
adjacent seats in a single row.

What is the probability that the four children are allocated seats next to each other? (2 marks)
P6 P4
P5

21. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2020 HSC 12c i. How many triangles can be drawn using these points as vertices? (1 mark)

To complete a course, a student must choose and pass exactly three topics. ii. How many pairs of triangles can be drawn, where the vertices of each triangle are distinct
points? (2 marks)
There are eight topics from which to choose.
Last year 400 students completed the course.

Explain, using the pigeonhole principle, why at least eight students passed exactly the same three
24. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2006 HSC 3c
topics. (2 marks)
Sophie has five coloured blocks: one red, one blue, one green, one yellow and one white. She
stacks two, three, four or five blocks on top of one another to form a vertical tower.
i. How many different towers are there that she could form that are three blocks high? (1 mark)
22. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 EQ-Bank 10
ii. How many different towers can she form in total? (2 marks)
By using the fact that , show that

. (3 marks)
25. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2010 HSC 3a

At the front of a building there are five garage doors. Two of the doors are to be painted red, one
is to be painted green, one blue and one orange.
i. How many possible arrangements are there for the colours on the doors? (1 mark)

ii. How many possible arrangements are there for the colours on the doors if the two red doors
are next to each other? (1 mark)

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26. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2012 HSC 11f 28. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2015 HSC 14c

Two players and play a series of games against each other to get a prize. In any game, either
i. Use the binomial theorem to find an expression for the constant term in the expansion of of the players is equally likely to win.

To begin with, the first player who wins a total of 5 games gets the prize.
. (2 marks)

i. Explain why the probability of player getting the prize in exactly 7 games is . (1

ii. For what values of does have a non-zero constant term? (1 mark) mark)

ii. Write an expression for the probability of player getting the prize in at most 7 games. (1 mark)

iii. Suppose now that the prize is given to the first player to win a total of games, where
is a positive integer.
27. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2020 HSC 14a
By considering the probability that gets the prize, prove that
i. Use the identity
to show that
. (2 marks)

Copyright © 2004-23 The State of New South Wales (Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW)
where is a positive integer. (2 marks)

ii. A club has members, with women and men.

A group consisting of an even number of members is chosen, with the number
of men equal to the number of women.

Show, giving reasons, that the number of ways to do this is . (2 marks)

iii. From the group chosen in part (ii), one of the men and one of the women are selected as leaders.
Show, giving reasons, that the number of ways to choose the even number of people and then
the leaders is

. (2 marks)

iv. The process is now reversed so that the leaders, one man and one woman, are chosen first. The
rest of the group is then selected, still made up of an equal number of women and men.
By considering this reversed process and using part (ii), find a simple expression for the sum in
part (iii). (2 marks)

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Worked Solutions
2. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2017 HSC 9 MC

1. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2014 HSC 3 MC

3. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2020 HSC 8 MC

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4. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2016 HSC 8 MC 7. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2021 HSC 10 MC

♦♦ Mean mark 31%.

5. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2013 HSC 7 MC

8. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2022 HSC 7 MC

♦♦ Mean mark 37%.

6. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2017 HSC 10 MC

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9. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2018 HSC 8 MC 11. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2022 HSC 12b

♦ Mean mark 42%.

12. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2021 HSC 11b

10. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2023 HSC 10 MC

T1

S SS

T3 T2

SS

♦♦♦ Mean mark 13%.

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13. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2015 HSC 13b 14. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2019 13b

i.

COMMENT: Arithmetic becomes

easier by expanding .

15. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2022 HSC 11c

ii.

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16. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2023 HSC 12d 18. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 SM-Bank 11

COMMENT: Note that “By PHP”

refers to by pigeonhole principle.

19. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2012 HSC 11e

17. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 SM-Bank 1

20. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2007 HSC 5b

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21. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2020 HSC 12c 23. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 SM-Bank 21

i.

Mean mark 52%.

COMMENT: In part (ii), divide by

2 to account for duplicate pairs.
ii.

24. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2006 HSC 3c

i.

22. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 EQ-Bank 10 ii.

25. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2010 HSC 3a

i.

ii. ♦ Mean mark 50%

MARKER’S COMMENT: Drawing
a diagram was a successful
strategy for many students in this
part.

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26. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2012 HSC 11f 27. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2020 HSC 14a

i. i.

♦♦ Mean mark part (i) 26%.

♦♦ Mean mark part (ii) 23%.

ii.

ii.

♦♦♦ Mean mark 16%.

iii.

♦♦ Mean mark part (iii) 26%.

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28. Combinatorics, EXT1 A1 2015 HSC 14c

i.

♦♦♦ Mean mark 19%.

♦♦♦ Mean mark part (iv) 16%.

iv.

ii.

♦♦♦ Mean mark 23%.

♦♦♦ Mean mark part (iii) 9%.

iii.

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Copyright © 2016-2024 M2 Mathematics Pty Ltd (SmarterMaths.com.au)

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