course Mth 152 ????zE???????o?????Y??assignment #001
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09:52:06 `q001. Note that there are 14 questions in this assignment. List all possible 3-letter 'words' that can be formed from the set of letters { a, b, c } without repeating any of the letters. Possible 'words' include 'acb' and 'bac'; however 'aba' is not permitted here because the letter 'a' is used twice.
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RESPONSE --> abc, acb, bac, bca, cab, cba confidence assessment: 3
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09:52:28 There are 2 'words' that can be formed starting with the first letter, a. They are abc and acb. There are 2 'words' that can be formed starting with the second letter, b. They are bac and bca. There are 2 'words' that can be formed starting with the third letter, c. They are cab and cba. Note that this listing is systematic in that it is alphabetical: abc, acb, bac, bca, cab, cba. It is important when listing things to be as systematic as possible, in order to avoid duplications and omissions.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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10:03:31 `q002. List all possible 3-letter 'words' that can be formed from the set of letters { a, b, c } if we allow repetition of letters. Possible 'words' include 'acb' and 'bac' as before; now 'aba' is permitted, as is 'ccc'.
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RESPONSE --> aaa, aab, aac, aba, abc, aca, acb, abb, acc, bbb, bba, bbc, bab, bac, bca, bcb, baa, bcc, ccc, cca, ccb, cac, cab, cbc, cba, caa, cbb. confidence assessment: 2
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10:03:47 Listing alphabetically the first possibility is aaa. There are 2 more possibilities starting with aa: aab and aac. There are 3 possibilities that start with ab: aba, abb and abc. Then there are 3 more starting with ac: aca, acb and acc. These are the only possible 3-letter 'words' from the set that with a. Thus there are a total of 9 such 'words' starting with a. There are also 9 'words' starting with b: baa, bab, bac; bba, bbb, bbc; bca, bcb and bcc, again listing in alphabetical order. There are finally 9 'words' starting with c: caa, cab, cac; cba, cbb, cbc; cca, ccb, ccc. We see that there are 9 + 9 + 9 = 27 possible 3-letter 'words'.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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10:07:46 `q003. If we form a 3-letter 'word' from the set {a, b, c}, not allowing repetitions, then how many choices do we have for the first letter chosen? How many choices do we then have for the second letter? How many choices do we therefore have for the 2-letter 'word' formed by the first two letters chosen? How many choices are then left for the third letter? How many choices does this make for the 3-letter 'word'?
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RESPONSE --> 3 2 6 1 6 confidence assessment: 2
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10:08:12 There are 3 choices for the first letter. The choices are a, b and c. Recall that repetition is not permitted. So having chosen the first letter, whichever letter is chosen, there are only 2 possible choices left. The question arises whether there are now 2 + 3 = 5 or 3 * 2 = 6 possibilities for the first two letters chosen. The correct choice is 3 * 2 = 6. This is because for each of the 3 possible choices for the first letter, there are 2 possible choices for the second. This result illustrates the Fundamental Counting Principal: If we make a number of distinct choices in a sequence, the net number of possibilities is the product of the numbers of possibilities for each individual choice. By the time we get to the third letter, we have only one letter left, so there is only one possible choice. Thus the first two letters completely determine the third, and there are still only six possibilites. The Fundamental Counting Principal confirms this: the total number possibilities must be 3 * 2 * 1 = 6.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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10:09:08 `q004. Check your answer to the last problem by listing the possibilities for the first two letters. Does your answer to that question match your list?
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RESPONSE --> ab, ac, ba, bc, ca, cb Yes confidence assessment: 3
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10:09:22 Listing helps clarify the situation. The first two letters could be ab, ac, ba, bc, ca or cb. Having determined the first two, the third is determined: for example if the first to letters are ba the third must be c. The possibilities for the three-letter 'words' are thus abc, acb, bac, bca, cab and cba; note that this list is obtained by simply adding the necessary letter to each of the two-letter sequences ab, ac, ba, bc, ca and cb.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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10:10:58 `q005. If we form a 3-letter 'word' from the set {a, b, c}, allowing repetitions, then how many choices do we have for the first letter chosen? How many choices do we then have for the second letter? How many choices do we therefore have for the 2-letter 'word' formed by the first two letters chosen? How many choices are then left for the third letter? How many choices does this make for the 3-letter 'word'?
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RESPONSE --> 3 3 9 3 27 confidence assessment: 3
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10:11:09 As before there are 3 choices for the first letter. However this time repetition is permitted so there are also 3 choices for the second letter and 3 choices for the third. By the Fundamental Counting Principal there are therefore 3 * 3 * 3 = 27 possibilities. Note that this result agrees with result obtained earlier by listing.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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10:13:36 `q006. If we were to form a 3-letter 'word' from the set {a, b, c, d}, without allowing a letter to be repeated, how many choices would we have for the first letter chosen? How many choices would we then have for the second letter? How many choices would we therefore have for the 2-letter 'word' formed by the first two letters chosen? How many choices would then be left for the third letter? How many possibilities does this make for the 3-letter 'word'?
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RESPONSE --> 4 3 12 2 24 confidence assessment: 2
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10:13:53 The first letter chosen could be any of the 4 letters in the set. The second choice could then be any of the 3 letters that remain. The third choice could then be any of the 2 letters that still remain. By the Fundamental Counting Principal there are thus 4 * 3 * 2 = 24 possible three-letter 'words'.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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10:20:38 `q007. List the 4-letter 'words' you can form from the set {a, b, c, d}, without allowing repetition of letters within a word. Does your list confirm your answer to the preceding question?
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RESPONSE --> abcd, acdb, adbc, abdc, acbd, adcb, bcda, bcad, bdac, bdca, bacd, badc, cdab, cdba, cabd, cadb, cdba, cdab, dabc, dacb, dcab, dcba, dbac, dbca. No, because the last question was about 3-letter words. confidence assessment: 2
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10:21:10 Listing alphabetically we have abcd, abdc, acbd, acdb, adbc, adcb; bac, bad, bca, bcd, bda, bdc; cab, cad, cba, cbd, cda, cdb; dab, dac, dba, dbc, dca, dcb. There are six possibilities starting with each of the four letters in the set.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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10:22:29 `q008. Imagine three boxes, one containing a set of billiard balls numbered 1 through 15, another containing a set of letter tiles with one tile for each letter of the alphabet, and a third box containing colored rings, one for each color of the rainbow (these colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, abbreviated ROY G BIV). If one object is chosen from each box, how many possibilities are there for the collection of objects chosen?
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RESPONSE --> 15 x 26 x 7 = 2730 confidence assessment: 2
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10:22:50 There are 15 possible choices from the first box, 26 from second, and 7 from the third. The total number of possibilities is therefore 15 * 26 * 7 = 2730. It would be possible to list the possibilities: 1 a R, 1 a O, 1 a Y, ..., 1 a V 1 b R, 1 b O, ..., 1 b V, 1 c R, 1 c O, ..., 1 c V, ... , 1 z R, 1 z O, ..., 1 z V, 2 a R, 2 a O, ..., 2 a V, etc., etc. This listing would be possible, not really difficult, but impractical because it would take hours. The Fundamental Counting Principle ensures that our result is accurate.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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10:24:23 `q009. For the three boxes of the preceding problem, how many of the possible 3-object collections contain an odd number?
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RESPONSE --> 8 x 26 x 7 = 1456 confidence assessment: 2
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10:24:32 The only possible odd number will come from the ball chosen from the first box. Of the 15 balls in the first box, 8 are labeled with odd numbers. There are thus 8 possible choices from the first box which will result in the presence of an odd number. The condition that our 3-object collection include an odd number places no restriction on our second and third choices. We can still choose any of the 26 letters of the alphabet and any of the seven colors of the rainbow. The number of possible collections which include an odd number is therefore 8 * 26 * 7 = 1456. Note that this is a little more than half of the 2730 possibilities. Thus if we chose randomly from each box, we would have a little better than a 50% chance of obtaining a collection which includes an odd number.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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10:25:40 `q010. For the three boxes of the preceding problem, how many of the possible collections contain an odd number and a vowel?
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RESPONSE --> 8 x 5 x 7 = 280 confidence assessment: 2
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10:25:48 In this case we have 8 possible choices from the first box and, if we consider only a, e, i, o and u to be vowels, we have only 5 possible choices from second box. We still have 7 possible choices from the third box, but the number of acceptable 3-object collections is now only 8 * 5 * 7 = 280, just a little over 1/10 of the 2730 unrestricted possibilities.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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10:26:40 `q011. For the three boxes of the preceding problem, how many of the possible collections contain an even number, a consonant and one of the first three colors of the rainbow?
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RESPONSE --> 7 x 21 x 3 = 441 confidence assessment: 2
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10:26:47 There are 7 even numbers between 1 and 15, and if we count y as a constant there are 21 consonant in the alphabet. There are therefore 7 * 21 * 3 = 441 possible 3-object collections containing an even number, a consonant, and one of the first three colors of rainbow.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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10:29:02 `q012. For the three boxes of the preceding problem, how many of the possible collections contain an even number or a vowel?
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RESPONSE --> 7 x 5 x 7 = 245 confidence assessment: 1
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10:30:37 There are 7 * 26 * 7 = 1274 collections which contain an even number. There are 15 * 5 * 7 = 525 collections which contain a vowel. It would seem that there must therefore be 1274 + 525 = 1799 collections which contain one or the other. However, this is not the case. Some of the 1274 collections containing an even number also contain a vowel, and are therefore included in the 525 collections containing vowels. If we add the 1274 and the 525 we are counting each of these even-number-and-vowel collections twice. We can correct for this error by determining how many of the collections in fact contain an even number AND a vowel. This number is easily found by the Fundamental Counting Principle to be 7 * 5 * 7 = 245. All of these 245 collections would be counted twice if we added 1274 to 525. If we subtract this number from the sum 1274 + 525, we will have the correct number of collections. The number of collections containing an even number or a vowel is therefore 1274 + 525 - 245 = 1555. This is an instance of the formula n(A U B) = n(A) + n(B) - n(A ^ B), where A U B is the intersection of two sets and A^B is their intersection and n(S) stands for the number of objects in the set. Here A U B is the set of all collections containing a letter or a vowel, A and B are the sets of collections containing a vowel and a consonant, respectively and A ^ B is the set of collections containing a vowel and a consonant.
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RESPONSE --> I solved the problem thinking that ""or"" meant the same thing as ""and."" self critique assessment: 2
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10:33:00 `q013. For the three boxes of the preceding problem, if we choose two balls from the first box, then a tile from the second and a ring from the third, how many possible outcomes are there?
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RESPONSE --> 15 x 14 x 26 x 7 = 38220 confidence assessment: 2
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10:33:52 There are 15 possibilities for the first ball chosen, 14 for the second, and 13 for the third. If the collection is going to be placed in the order chosen there are therefore 15 * 14 * 13 possible outcomes. On the other hand, if the collections are going to be just tossed into a container with no regard for order, then there are fewer possible outcomes. Whatever three objects are chosen, they could have been chosen in any of 3 * 2 * 1 = 6 possible orders (there are 3 choices for the first of the three objects that got chosen, 2 choices for the second and only 1 choice of the third). This would mean that there are only 1/6 has many possibilities. So if the order in which the objects are chosen doesn't matter, there are only 15 * 14 * 13 / 6 possibilities.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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??????w?????????? assignment #002 002. Permutations, combinations, rearranging letters of words. Liberal Arts Mathematics II 01-25-2009
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10:37:53 `q001. Note that there are 8 questions in this assignment. If we choose three letter tiles from a complete set, which consists of one tile for each letter, then how many three-letter 'words' are possible ?
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RESPONSE --> 26 x 25 x 24 =15600 confidence assessment: 2
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10:38:00 There are 26 choices for the first tile chosen, 25 for the second and 24 for the third. The number of possible three-letter words with 3 distinct letters of the alphabet is therefore 26 * 25 * 24.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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10:40:30 `q002. If we choose three letter tiles from a complete set, then how many unordered collections of three letters are possible?
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RESPONSE --> 26 x 25 x 24 = 15600 confidence assessment: 0
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10:41:58 If the 3-tile collections are unordered there are only 1/6 as many possibilities, since there are 3 * 2 * 1 = 6 orders in which any collection could have been chosen. Since there are 26 * 25 * 24 ways to choose the 3 tiles in order, there are thus 26 * 25 * 24 / 6 possibilities for unordered choices.
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RESPONSE --> I completely guessed because I was not sure how to calculate the answer. self critique assessment: 1
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10:44:29 `q003. If we choose two balls from fifteen balls, numbered 1 - 15, from the first box of the preceding problem set, and do so without replacing the first ball chosen, we can get totals like 3 + 7 = 10, or 2 + 14 = 16, etc.. How many of the possible unordered outcomes give us a total of less than 29?
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RESPONSE --> 15 x 13 = 195 confidence assessment: 1
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10:47:02 The smallest possible total would be 1 + 2 = 3 and the greatest possible total would be 14 + 15 = 29. We quickly see that the only way to get a total of 29 is to have chosen 14 and 15, in either order. Thus out of the 15 * 14 / 2 = 105 possible unordered combinations of two balls, only one gives us a total of at least 29. The remaining 104 possible combinations give us a total of less than 29. This problem illustrates how it is sometimes easier to analyze what doesn't happen than to analyze what does. In this case we were looking for totals less than 29, but it was easier to find the number of totals that were not less than 29. Having found that number we easily found the number we were seeking.
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RESPONSE --> I still don't quite understand the term ""unordered,"" and so did not grasp what was truly being asked. self critique assessment: 1
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10:52:43 `q004. If we place each object in all the three boxes (one containing 15 numbered balls, another 26 letter tiles, the third seven colored rings) in a small bag and add packing so that each bag looks and feels the same as every other, and if we then thoroughly mix the contents of the three boxes into a single large box before we pick out two bags at random, how many of the possible combinations will have two rings? How many of the possible combinations will have two tiles? How many of the possible combinations will have a tile and a ring? How many of the possible combinations will include a tile?
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RESPONSE --> 7 x 6 = 42 26 x 25 = 650 26 x 7 = 182 26 x 47 = 1222 confidence assessment: 2
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10:55:43 There are a total of 7 rings. There are thus 7 ways the first bag could have contained a ring, leaving 6 ways in which the second bag could have contained a ring. It follows that 7 * 6 / 2 = 21 of the possible combinations will contain 2 rings (note that we divide by 2 because each combination could occur in two different orders). Reasoning similarly we see that there are 26 ways the first bag could have contained a tile and 25 ways the second bag could have contained a tile, so that there are 26 * 25 / 2 = 325 possible combinations which contain 2 tiles. Since there are 26 tiles and 7 rings, there are 26 * 7 / 2 = 91 possible two-bag combinations containing a tile and a ring. There are a total of 15 + 26 + 7 = 48 bags, so the total number of possible two-bag combinations is 48 * 47 / 2. Since 15 + 7 = 22 of the bags do not contain tiles, there are 22 * 21 / 2 two-bag combinations with no tiles. The number of possible combinations which do include tiles is therefore the difference 48 * 47 / 2 - 22 * 21 / 2 between the number of no-tile combinations and the total number of possible combinations.
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RESPONSE --> I forgot to divide all the answers by two, because half of my combinations are the actually the being repeated. self critique assessment: 2
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10:58:51 `q005. Suppose we have mixed the contents of the three boxes as described above. If we pick five bags at random, then in how many ways can we get a ball, then two tiles, then a ring, then another ball, in that order?
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RESPONSE --> 15 x 26 x 25 x 7 x 14 / 5 =191100 confidence assessment: 1
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11:00:24 There are 15 bags containing balls, so there are 15 ways to get a ball on the first selection. If a ball is chosen on the first selection, there are still 26 bags containing tiles when the second selection is made. So there are 26 ways to get a tile on the second selection. At this point there are 25 tiles so there are 25 ways to get a tile on the third selection. There are still 7 rings from which to select, so that there are 7 ways the fourth choice can be a ring. Since 1 ball has been chosen already, there are 14 ways that the fifth choice can be a ball. To get the specified choices in the indicated order, then, there are 15 * 26 * 25 * 7 * 14 ways.
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RESPONSE --> I did not need to divide the answer by five this time because the proble was order specific. self critique assessment: 2
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11:02:01 `q006. Suppose we have mixed the contents of the three boxes as described above. If we pick five bags at random, then in how many ways can we get two balls, two tiles and a ring in any order?
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RESPONSE --> 15 x 14 x 26 x 25 x 7 = 955500 confidence assessment: 2
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11:04:00 There are 15 * 14 possible outcomes when 2 balls are chosen in order, and 15 * 14 / 2 possible outcomes when the order doesn't matter. There are similarly 26 * 25 / 2 possible outcomes when 2 tiles are choose without regard for order. There are 7 possible choices for the one ring. Thus we have [ 15 * 14 / 2 ] * [ 26 * 25 / 2 ] * 7 ways in which to choose 2 balls, 2 tiles and a ring. Another way to get the same result is to start with the 15 * 26 * 25 * 7 * 14 ways to choose the 2 balls, 2 tiles and one ring in a specified order, as shown in the last problem. Whichever 2 tiles are chosen, they could have been chosen in the opposite order, so if the order of tiles doesn't matter there are only half as many possible outcomes--i.e., 15 * 26 * 25 * 7 * 14 / 2 possibilities if the order of the tiles doesn't matter that the order of the balls does. If the order of the balls doesn't matter either, then we have half this many, or 15 * 26 * 25 * 7 * 14 / ( 2 * 2) ways. It should be easy to see why this expression is identical to the expression [ 15 * 14 / 2 ] * [ 26 * 25 / 2 ] * 7 obtained by the first analysis of this problem.
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RESPONSE --> I have been confused on when and when not to divide by the amount chosen, but now I understand that when the order does not matter is the time to divide. self critique assessment: 2
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11:06:13 `q007. Suppose we have mixed the contents of the three boxes as described above. If we pick five bags at random, then in how many ways can we get a collection of objects that does not contain a tile?
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RESPONSE --> 22 x 21 x 20 x 19 x 18 / 5 = 632016 confidence assessment: 2
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11:06:49 Of the 48 bags, 22 do not contain a tile. If we pick five bags at random, then there are 22 * 21 * 20 * 19 * 18 ways in which the five bags could all contain something besides a tile.
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RESPONSE --> ? self critique assessment: 1
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11:09:41 `q008. Suppose the balls, tiles and rings are back in their original boxes. If we choose three balls, each time replacing the ball and thoroughly mixing the contents of the box, then two tiles, again replacing and mixing after each choice, then how many 5-character 'words' consisting of 3 numbers followed by 2 letters could be formed from the results?
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RESPONSE --> 15 x 15 x 15 x 26 x 26 = 2281500 confidence assessment: 1
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11:09:50 Since the order of the characters makes a difference when forming 'words', the order of the choices does matter in this case. We have 15 balls from which to choose, so that if we choose with replacement there are 15 possible outcomes for every choice of a ball. Similarly there are 26 possible outcomes for every choice of a tile. Since we first choose 3 balls then 2 tiles, there are 15 * 15 * 15 * 26 * 26 possible 5-character 'words'.
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RESPONSE --> ok self critique assessment: 3
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