Assignment 2

course Mth 152

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assignment #002

002. Permutations, combinations, rearranging letters of words.

Liberal Arts Mathematics II

01-17-2008

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13:50:50

`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 -->

Since a complete set of letters has 26 tiles in it and we want to know how many 3-letter words are possible (without repetion) ... we would get the answer 26 * 25 * 24 = 15,600

confidence assessment: 1

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13:51:09

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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self critique assessment: 2

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13:53:17

`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 -->

There are still 26 letter tiles. If the collection is unordered than there would still be 26 letters to choose from each time. Therefore the answer is 26 * 26 * 26 = 17,576

confidence assessment: 1

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13:56:24

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 -->

Not sure that I understand the ""unordered"" collection and why there's only 1/6 as many possibilities.

self critique assessment: 1

For example the letters a, b and c would be included whether the blocks turn up abc, acb, bac, bca, cab or cba.

When the letters a, b and c occur there are 3 possibilities for which one comes first, leaving two possibilities for the second, which then leaves only one possibility for the third. So there are 3 * 2 * 1 different orders in which these three letters can occur.

The same is true for any other set of three letters. Any set of three letters can occur in any of 3 * 2 * 1 = 6 different orders.

When choosing three different letters from 26 possible letters, there are 26 possiblities for which one comes first, 25 for the second and 24 for the third. These 26 * 25 * 24 outcomes will be in order. In other words a b c would be a different outcome from b c a, even though the set of three letters is the same.

So we can group these 26 * 25 * 24 outcomes into groups, with each group containing the same three letters (one group would include abc, acb, bac, bca, cab, cba; for every different set of three letters there is such a group). There are six outcomes in each group.

So there are 26 * 25 * 24 / (3 * 2 * 1), or 26 * 25 * 24 / 6, groups.

The groups don't distinguish order--each group contains all 6 possible ordering of a set of 3 letters.

So we say there are 26 * 25 * 24 / (3 * 2 * 1) possible unordered sets of three letters.

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15:58:55

`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 -->

This was a tricky one ...

If we choose 2 balls from the fifteen that are numbered 1-15 ... there are 15 possibities for the first ball and 14 for the second ball.

15 * 14 = 210 total possibities.

There are only 2 possibilities that the sum of the two balls will be 29 or greater ... (14,15) and (15,14).

210 - 2 = 208 possibilities that the outcome will be less than 29.

confidence assessment: 2

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16:00:24

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 -->

Well, I was close but didn't divide it by 2 again.

self critique assessment: 1

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16:21:26

`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 -->

There are 7 chances the first bag will be a ring and then only 6 chances after each first choice being a ring that the second bag is a ring.

7 * 6 = 42 possible combinations will have 2 rings.

There are 26 chances that the first bag will be a tile and then 25 chances after the first bag being a tile that the second bag will be a tile too.

26 * 25 = 650 possible combinations will have 2 tiles.

There are 33 chances that the first bag will be a tile or a ring and 32 chances that the 2nd will be the other.

33 * 32 = 1056 will have a tile and a ring

There are 26 tiles.

48 * 26 = 1248 will have at least one tile.

confidence assessment: 1

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16:22:25

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 -->

Why do I not divide by 2??? Where is this formula in my book?

self critique assessment: 1

In every one of these cases you are picking two objects. The two objects could occur in two different orders.

When you get 7 * 6 = 42 you are getting the number of ordered outcomes; there are two distinct rings and they could have occurred in either of 2 possible orders. If all you care about is that you got two rings, and don't care in which order they were picked, then you need to count unordered combinations. The 42 ordered outcomes would occur in groups of 2, so there would be 42 / 2 = 21 unordered outcomes having 2 rings.

One flaw in the way this problem was presented is that the word 'combination' was used without having been defined. That word has a specific mathematical meaning:

The word 'combination' refers to a unordered outcome.

As I stated, that wasn't made clear, and the answer you gave was as good an answer as could be expected to the question.

When order matters, we use the word 'permutation'.

There are 42 permutations of 2 rings. There are 21 combinations of 2 rings.

The confusion resulted from my omission; hopefully this explanation will clarify the situation.

The premise of the qa is that you need to understand the situation before you see a formula. If you grab onto a formula too quickly, without understanding its context and meaning, you will be prone to misuse it.

The formulas associated with the ideas you are working through in this qa will occur in the subsequent text assignment, which should help you pull these ideas together into a nice tight bundle.

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16:25:31

`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 balls, 26 tiles and 7 rings. If we draw the box diagram ... 1st box (15), 2nd box (26), 3rd box (25), 4th box (7) and 5th box (14).

(15 * 26 * 25 * 7 * 14)/2 = 477,750 ways

confidence assessment: 0

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16:26:26

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 -->

UGH!! I had it right that time and divided it by 2 because the last few answers I missed because I didn't divide by 2. Not doing very well this time!

self critique assessment: 2

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16:28:40

`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 -->

The any order is when I divide by 2 I think.

(15 * 14 * 26 * 25 * 7)/2 = 477,750

confidence assessment: 0

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16:30:30

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'm getting it. I divide by 2 the any order groups. The balls were divided by 2 and the tiles were divided by 2, but the rings were not because there was only 1 ring chosen.

self critique assessment: 2

You're doing very well.

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16:32:37

`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 -->

Since there are 15 balls and 7 rings, there are 22 possibilites for the first choice. Then 21 for the second ...

22 * 21 * 20 * 19 * 18 = 3,160,080

confidence assessment: 2

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16:32:49

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 -->

Yeah!

self critique assessment: 2

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16:35:09

`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 -->

There are still 15 choices of balls. After picking one ball, we will put it back and again have 15 balls. Same with the tiles ... 26 choices, after picking one, we put it back and again have 26 choices.

15 * 15 * 15 * 26 * 26 = 2,281,500

confidence assessment: 1

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16:35:18

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 -->

self critique assessment: 2

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ސh|xwҶ

assignment #002

002. Permutations, combinations, rearranging letters of words.

Liberal Arts Mathematics II

01-17-2008"

You are doing really well here. See my notes.

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Let me know if you have questions. &#