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Topic 6
Counting Techniques
Suppose you are doing an experiment and you want to determine its total number of possible
outcomes. Probably you will wait for the outcomes and count them one by one. Without going to the
rigorous task of counting, you can determine it by using some techniques.

Fundamental Counting Principle (FCP)

If a task can be done in 𝑛1 ways, and for each of these ways another task can be done in 𝑛2 ways,
and for each of these another task can be done in 𝑛3 ways, and so on up to 𝑛𝑘 ways, then together
you can do all of these in

𝑛1 ∗ 𝑛2 ∗ 𝑛3 ∗ … ∗ 𝑛𝑘 ways

Example

If you have 2 tops (t-shirt, blouse), 2 bottoms (jeans, skirt), and 3 footwear (sandals, sneakers, boots)
to choose for your outfit of the day (OOTD), in how many ways can you do it?

Answer: 2 ways to choose a top, 2 ways to choose a bottom, and 3 ways to choose a footwear so

𝟐 ∗ 𝟐 ∗ 𝟑 = 𝟏𝟐 ways

To know the actual OOTDs, a tree diagram can be used.

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Example

You are about to take a 5-item True-or-False quiz.

A. In how many ways can you answer the quiz?

Answer: You can answer the first item in 2 ways, either T or F; the second item also in 2 ways, same
with the third item up to the last item. Thus, you can answer the quiz in

One possible way is

B. In how many ways can you answer 𝐹 in the first item, 𝑇 on the third item, and 𝑇 on the last (fifth)
item?

Answer: You can answer the first item in 1 way (F only); the second item in 2 ways, the third item in
1 way (T only), the fourth item in 2 ways, and the last item in 1 way (T only). Thus, you can answer the
quiz with the given conditions in

These are FFTFT, FFTTT, FTTFT, and FTTTT.

Example

Mr. and Mrs. Cruz plans to have three children. In how many ways can the second child be a girl?

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Answer: The first child is either a boy or a girl. The same goes for the second and third children. There
are a total of 2 ∗ 2 ∗ 2 = 8 ways that the sexes of the children can be born with. Thus, for the second
child to be a girl, there are

You may construct a tree diagram as shown below. There are a total of 8 ways to have the children
born. The 4 ways that the second child is a girl are in yellow boxes.

1st child 2nd child 3rd child

Example

Randomly select a letter from the English alphabet. If the letter is a vowel, toss a coin. If it is a
consonant, toss a die (plural: dice). How many possible outcomes are there?

Answer: There are 5 vowels (𝑎, 𝑒, 𝑖, 𝑜, 𝑢) and if you choose any one of these, you have to toss a coin
(ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑,𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙). For this, there are 5 ∗ 2 = 10 outcomes. Now, if a consonant is selected (there are 21 of
them), then you toss a die (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). For this, there are 21 ∗ 6 = 126 possible outcomes. So,
the total number of possible outcomes is 10 + 126 = 136.

Practice: Construct the tree diagram of this example.

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Permutations

A permutation is the arrangement of objects in which the order of these objects matter. For example,
the order of letters in the word BOY is not the same as that of BYO’s. The number of permutations of
𝒏 objects chosen 𝒓 at a time is denoted as 𝒏𝑷𝒓 or nPr or 𝑷(𝒏, 𝒓). We will use 𝑷(𝒏, 𝒓) for ease of
writing. Then,
𝒏!
𝑷(𝒏, 𝒓) =
(𝒏 − 𝒓)!

where 𝒏! = 𝟏 ∗ 𝟐 ∗ 𝟑 ∗ … ∗ 𝒏 and is read as “𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍”. Note that 𝟎! = 𝟏. Your calculator is

equipped with the permutation function, just in case you want to make your life easier.

Example

In how many ways can the word ACE be arranged?

Answer: The word ACE has 3 letters, so 𝑛 = 3. We want these 3 letters to be arranged in different
ways, so 𝑟 = 3. Thus,

And what are these arrangements or permutations? ACE, AEC, CAE, CEA, EAC, ECA

Example

Three people are standing in line at a Jollibee counter, and due to the pandemic, they are socially
distancing from each other. In how many ways can they do it?

Answer: Since 𝑛 = 3, 𝑟 = 3, then,

or you may analyze it this way: Suppose Sue, Max, and Paz are those standing in line, in this order.

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There are 3 possible persons who can stand first in line. Suppose out of the three, Sue is in 1st place.
Since Sue cannot stand in the 2nd place if she is already in the 1st place, then the 2nd place is available
for the remaining two persons. Suppose out of the remaining two, Max is in the 2nd place. Since Max
cannot stand in the 3rd place since he is already in the 2nd place, then Paz is in the 3rd or last place.
Therefore, the number of ways they can fall in line is 𝟑 ∗ 𝟐 ∗ 𝟏 = 𝟔 or 𝟑! = 𝟔.

In general, if you are arranging 𝒏 objects in a line, the number of ways you can do it is 𝒏!

𝒏! = 𝑷(𝒏, 𝒓) if 𝒓 = 𝒏

Example

Suppose 10 dogs will participate in a dog show category. In how many ways can they be ranked from
best to worst?

Answer: Since 𝑛 = 10, 𝑟 = 10, then 𝑷(𝟏𝟎, 𝟏𝟎) = 𝟑, 𝟔𝟐𝟖, 𝟖𝟎𝟎 ways

Example

Refer to the 10 dogs above. In how many ways can Champion, 1st runner-up, and 2nd runner up be
awarded to them?

Answer: Since 𝑛 = 10, 𝑟 = 3, then

or

Example

If 3 boys and 3 girls are to be lined up alternatingly, in how may ways can this be made if the 1st in line
is a boy?

Answer: 3 ∗ 3 ∗ 2 ∗ 2 ∗ 1 ∗ 1

B G B G B G

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Example

How many arrangements of two-letter “words” can be formed from the word ACE?

Answer: Since 𝑛 = 3, 𝑟 = 2, then there are

or

And what are these arrangements or permutations? AC, CA, AE, EA, CE, EC

Permutations with repetitions

If 𝑛 objects are not all distinct, say for example, in the word QUEUE, how do we arrange these
letters? We simply count how many repetitions there are for each object and use the formula
below:
𝒏!
𝑷(𝒏; 𝒏𝟏 , 𝒏𝟐 , 𝒏𝟑 , … , 𝒏𝒌 ) =
𝒏𝟏 ! ∗ 𝒏𝟐 ! ∗ 𝒏𝟑 ! ∗ … ∗ 𝒏𝒌 !

where 𝑛 is the total number of objects of which 𝑛1 are alike, 𝑛2 are alike,…, 𝑛𝑘 are alike.

Example

How many 3 − letter “words” can be made from the word 𝑩𝑬𝑬?

Answer: There are 𝑛 = 3 letters, 𝑛1 = 1 letter for B, 𝑛2 = 2 letters repeating for 𝐸. Hence,

What are these “words”? Using a tree diagram, we denote the first letter 𝐸 as 𝐸1 and the second
letter 𝐸 as 𝐸2 and permute them as different from each other. The six permutations are obtained.
Since 𝐸1 = 𝐸2 = 𝐸, then the six permutations are now reduced to three, as shown in the diagram.
The “words” formed are 𝑩𝑬𝑬, 𝑬𝑩𝑬, 𝑬𝑬𝑩.

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Example

How many permutations can be made from the word QUEUE?

Answer: Since 𝑛 = 5, 𝑛1 = 1, 𝑛2 = 2, and 𝑛3 = 2, then

Practice: Construct the tree diagram of this example.

Circular Permutation

If 𝒏 distinct objects are to be arranged in a line, there are 𝒏! ways that these objects can be lined
up, and there is the beginning of the line and the ending of the line. However, if the same 𝒏 objects
are arranged in a circle, anyone of these objects can be the beginning or the ending. As such, there
is a need to fix one object as the starting point and only the remaining objects will change places.
Since one object is fixed at the start, then there will be a reduction of permutations by 1. The
formula for circular permutation is

(𝒏 − 𝟏)! or 𝟏 ∗ (𝒏 − 𝟏) ∗ (𝒏 − 𝟐) ∗ (𝒏 − 𝟑) ∗∗∗ 𝟐 ∗ 𝟏

Example

If the letters in the word ACE are arranged in a circle, how many permutations of these letters can be
made?

Answer: Since there are 3 letters (𝑛 = 3), then (𝒏 − 𝟏)! = (𝟑 − 𝟏)! = 𝟐! = 𝟐

or 𝟏 ∗ (𝟑 − 𝟏) ∗ (𝟑 − 𝟐) = 𝟏 ∗ 𝟐 ∗ 𝟏 = 𝟐

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And what are these permutations?

A A

C E E C

If A is our reference point, then the permutations are ACE and AEC only. If our reference point is E,
then the permutations are EAC and ECA only. If C is our reference point, then the permutations are
CAE and CEA only. Thus, for this example, there are only 2 permutations of letters in a circle wherever
the reference point is.

Example

If the letters of the word HEAR are arranged in a circle, how many permutations can be made?

Answer: (4 − 1)! = 3! = 6 or 1 ∗ 3 ∗ 2 ∗ 1 = 6

And what are these arrangements?

If H is the reference point, then these are: HEAR, HERA, HARE, HAER, HREA, HRAE

If E is the reference point, then these are: __________________________________

If A is the reference point, then these are: __________________________________
If R is the reference point, then these are: __________________________________

Example

If three couples are to be seated at a round table, in how many ways can they be seated if men and
women are seated in an alternating manner?

Answer:

Suppose a man is seated first. 1 man out of 3 men is fixed at this place.
Next to be seated is a woman. There are 3 women to choose from.
Next to be seated is a man. There are 2 men to choose from since 1 man is already at the 1st place.
Next to be seated is a woman. There are 2 women to choose from since 1 woman is already at the 2nd
place.
Next to be seated is a man. Only 1 man remains since 1 man is already at the 3rd place.
Next (or last) to be seated is a woman. Only 1 woman remains since 1 woman is already at the 4th
place.
Thus, there are 𝟏 ∗ 𝟑 ∗ 𝟐 ∗ 𝟐 ∗ 𝟏 ∗ 𝟏 = 𝟏𝟐 ways to seat these men and women alternatingly.

Practice: List all these 12 circular arrangements. ___________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

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Combinations

A combination is a selection of 𝑟 objects from 𝑛 objects without regard to the order of these
objects. In permutations, ACE is not the same as CAE; they are distinct arrangements. In
combinations, ACE is the same as CAE. The combination of 𝑛 objects taken 𝑟 at a time is denoted
𝒏𝑪𝒓 or nCr or 𝑪(𝒏, 𝒓). We will use 𝑪(𝒏, 𝒓) for ease of writing. The formula is

!
Example
𝒓!
(𝒏−
How
𝒓)! many combinations can be made from the word ACE taken two letters at a time?

Answer: Since 𝑛 = 3, 𝑟 = 2, then

The three combinations are 𝑨𝑪, 𝑨𝑬, and 𝑪𝑬.

Comparison of combinations and permutations of the word ACE with 𝑟 = 2

What have you observed? _____________________________________________________________

Example

In a pet shop, in how many ways can Madam X select 3 Husky puppies from a litter of 6?

Why is this a combination and not a permutation? __________________________________________

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Example

Lyle, an upcoming vlogger about pets, decides to order a pair of cats, 4 hamsters, and 2 rabbits from
breeder who has 10 cats, 15 hamsters, and 20 rabbits. How many choices does Lyle have?

Answer: Lyle can choose the cats in 𝐶(10,2) ways, the hamsters in 𝐶(15,4) ways, and the rabbits in
𝐶(20,2) ways. Altogether, he can choose his order in

Example

Dinah, a newly minted Plantita, bets on the 6/55 Grand Lotto with a minimum jackpot prize of Php 50
million for the simple reason that in case she wins, she wants to buy lots of Alocasia macrorrhizos
(common name: badjang/badiang) and also plants that are in Jinkee Pacquiao’s collection. In how
many ways can she choose her lucky numbers?

Answer: In the 6/55 Grand Lotto, 6 numbers are to be chosen out of 55 numbers (1 𝑡𝑜 55)
regardless of arrangement. So 𝑛 = 55 and 𝑟 = 6. Thus, she can choose her lucky numbers in

𝑪(𝟓𝟓, 𝟔) = 𝟐𝟖, 𝟗𝟖𝟗, 𝟔𝟕𝟓 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬.

Example

Bartolome is about to do his undergraduate thesis next semester. He is going to obtain his 75
respondents using simple random sampling. Suppose there are 250 people in the population. In how
many ways can he obtain his sample?

Answer: 𝑪(𝟐𝟓𝟎, 𝟕𝟓) = 𝟏. 𝟏𝟓𝟖𝟖𝟔𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟔𝟗𝟓𝟑𝟑𝑬 + 𝟔𝟓 or 𝟏. 𝟏𝟓𝟖𝟖𝟔𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟔𝟗𝟓𝟑𝟑 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟔𝟓

Note: Permutation is to arrangement of objects as combination is to selection of objects.

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